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The Impact of the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Program

The Impact of the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Program

A Comprehensive Evaluation of the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Program

The North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Program expands school choice in North Carolina by providing state-funded private school vouchers for eligible children in Kindergarten through twelfth grade. Enacted in 2013 and implemented in 2014-15, the Opportunity Scholarship Program currently provides funding of up to 90% of the state’s per pupil allocation per year for eligible students to attend participating private schools (This translates to a maximum voucher value of $6,168 for the 2022-23 school year).

Evaluation Overview:
A research team at North Carolina State University is conducting a wide-ranging evaluation of the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship voucher program. Data collection efforts to date have included focus groups with principals and parents,  surveys of private school principals and parents, and administration of a nationally-normed standardized assessment to samples of public and private school students. Furthermore, data analysis efforts have included investigations of program application data, student achievement data, descriptive school data, and qualitative data describing program experiences. 

Research Team:
Anna J. Egalite, Ph.D.
North Carolina State University
Email: anna_egalite@ncsu.edu

Daniel H. Bowen
Texas A&M University
Email: dhbowen@tamu.edu

Brian Kisida
University of Missouri
Email: kisidab@missouri.edu

Dallas (Trip) Stallings, Ph.D.
North Carolina State University
Email: dtstalli@ncsu.edu

Stephen R. Porter, Ph.D.
North Carolina State University
Email: srporter@ncsu.edu

Jonathan N. Mills 
The Coleridge Initiative
jon.mills@coleridgeinitiative.org

M. Daniela Barriga
North Carolina State University
mdbarrig@ncsu.edu

Ashley Gray
UNC Chapel Hill
ashley_gray@unc.edu