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June 2008
 Evaluation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts After Two
Years
This report is the fourth of a series of annual reports about the D.C.
Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) mandated by Congress. Staff from
the Washington Scholarship Fund, which oversees the OSP administration
provided information about the program. The OSP was created by the
District of Columbia School Choice Incentive Act of 2003.
The researchers evaluated the first two years of OSP operations to
determine if changes in educational outcomes could be detected. The
researchers used a randomized control trial design that compared outcomes
of eligible applicants randomly assigned to receive scholarships and a
control group of applicants that were not awarded scholarships. The
researchers reviewed standardized test results and interviewed parents
and students. Parents of scholarship students were more satisfied with
their students progress and the school placements. Students test
results showed some improvements in math and reading, but the gains were
not statistically significant. A comprehensive study reviewing three
years of academic data will be released in June 2009.
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