Study: Wisconsin public, voucher student scores match

MADISON (AP) -- A report shows little difference between Milwaukee school voucher students and public school students' performance on the state's standardized test.

The Legislative Audit Bureau compared seventh-, eighth- and 10th-graders' scores on the 2010-2011 Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination with their scores from the 2006-2007 test.

Auditors found math scores for students in all the grades improved at close to the same rate. Eighth-graders in both systems improved at about the same rate in reading, although seventh- and 10th-grade voucher students showed greater improvement in reading.

Auditors say their findings don't definitively show voucher students outperform public students. They noted voucher schools weren't required to administer the WKCE to all students until the 2010-2011 school year. They also noted many students transferred between voucher and public schools during those five years.