Once the pioneering state in bringing choice to students and parents, Wisconsin is gradually falling behind in a nationwide education movement still building momentum.
According to the 2025 EdChoice Friedman Index—a new measuring system released in April by the titular education reform organization, which is designed to measure how much educational choice families in a particular state actually have— Wisconsin ranks just tenth overall, with an index score of 23 in a range from 0 to 100.
To measure a Friedman Index score, EdChoice uses three criteria. If a state meets all three criteria, it earns a score of 100 on the index. The first, “All Students,” measures whether “100% of the students in the state are eligible to participate in a choice program, with funding available for all who wish to participate (universal funded eligibility).”
The second criteria, “All Options,” measures whether “all choice students are able to participate in an education savings account-style program (ESA), which means families have the opportunity to use the taxpayer funds placed in their child’s account to offset tuition payments at private schools and to purchase educational goods and services outside of schools, (e.g. tutoring, textbooks, test fees, special needs therapies, etc).”
The third criteria, “All Dollars,” measures whether “average awards per choice student are equal to the average state and local revenue per public school student, which means that choice students receive the same amount of funding as public school students (sans federal funding), on average.”
The formula for calculating the Friedman Index is relatively straightforward. The percentage of students eligible for a choice program (with funding) is multiplied by the fraction of average dollar award per choice student divided by state and local revenues per public school student. This number is then multiplied by 100. If a state does not have an ESA or similar program permitting families to purchase education services “outside of school walls,” that state receives a five-point deduction from the formula.
The report provides examples to illustrate how the formula works. In the first example, the fictional state of Wakanda has two ESA programs in which a combined 50 percent of the state’s students are eligible for either program. Additionally, “the average ESA award among choice students across the programs is $8,000, and the public schools in Wakanda receive an average of $16,000 in state and local funding.” Applying those numbers to the formula, 50 percent is multiplied by the fraction of $8,000 divided by $16,000 and then multiplied by 100. So, 50 percent (.5) times 50 percent (.5) equals .25, which is then multiplied by 100 to yield a final score of 25.
To the Badger State’s credit, a bevy of school voucher programs have been provided to many Wisconsin families. The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, established in 1990, was the first modern education choice program. It was followed by the Racine Private School Parental Choice Program in 2011, the statewide Parental Choice Program in 2013, and the Special Needs Scholarship Program in 2016. A little over 58,000 students are currently enrolled in one of these four programs.
However, none of these is an ESA program. Moreover, only 40 percent of Wisconsin students are eligible for one of these programs, and, in aggregate, these programs only provide families with 70 percent of the funding that would have gone to their child in one of the state’s public school. Hence, Wisconsin’s score of 23 on the Friedman Index.
To significantly improve the Badger State’s index score and catapult it back into the vanguard of the education choice movement, Wisconsin lawmakers should consider combining and streamlining the state’s four existing voucher programs into a universal ESA program open to all Wisconsin children. Further, they should consider funding that program at a level that ensures each Wisconsin child can make use of it, while ensuring each account award matches the per-pupil expenditure that would have gone to a public school student.
Copious empirical research on school choice programs like ESAs makes clear these programs offer families improved access to high-quality schools that meet their children’s unique needs and circumstances. Specifically, these programs improve academic performance and attainment while delivering quality education at lower cost than traditional public schools.
Additionally, education choice benefits public school students and taxpayers by increasing competition, decreasing segregation, and improving civic values and practices. Research also shows students at private schools are less likely than their public school peers to experience problems such as alcohol abuse, bullying, drug use, fighting, gang activity, racial tension, theft, vandalism, and weapon-based threats. There is also a strong causal link suggesting private school choice programs improve the mental health of participating students.
Education choice programs like ESAs are not only good policy—they are also broadly popular. EdChoice’s Public Opinion Tracker, last updated on June 9, shows 68 percent of all Wisconsin adults and 75 percent of Wisconsin parents with school-aged children are in favor of ESA programs.
Further, a universal ESA program is sorely needed in the Badger State because the state’s public schools are habitually failing Wisconsin’s children. In 2024, only 42 percent of Wisconsin’s public school fourth-graders and 37 percent of eighth-graders tested “proficient” to grade-level proficiency in mathematics on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) examination, colloquially known as the “Nation’s Report Card.” Just 31 percent of fourth-graders and eighth-graders, respectively, tested “proficient” in reading. Essentially, and embarrassingly, the state’s public schools are failing to educate roughly seven out of 10 Wisconsin children to grade-level proficiency in reading and math by the time they are about to enter high school.
The goal of public education in Wisconsin today and in the years to come should be to allow all parents to choose which schools their children attend, require every school to compete for every student who walks through its doors, and make sure every child has the opportunity to attend a quality school that best fits their unique needs and circumstances. Wisconsin is already very close to doing so, and there has not been a time when providing these opportunities has been more urgent and more needed than right now.
The following documents provide more information about education choice.
The 2025 EdChoice Friedman Index
https://www.edchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-Friedman-Index.pdf
To measure how much K–12 choice is available in a given state, EdChoice has created the EdChoice Friedman Index which evaluates three key factors: student eligibility; flexible use of funds; and funding parity.
The 123s of School Choice (2025 Edition)
https://www.edchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-ABCs-of-School-Choice.pdf
This report from EdChoice is an in-depth review of the available research on private school choice programs in America. Areas of study include: private school choice program participant test scores, program participant attainment, parent satisfaction, public school students’ test scores, civic values and practices, racial/ethnic integration and fiscal effects.
Fiscal Effects of School Choice
https://www.edchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Fiscal-Effects-2024.pdf
This EdChoice analysis of 48 private educational choice programs in 25 states plus D.C. summarizes the facts and evidence on the fiscal effects of educational choice programs across the United States and finds they have provided up to $45.6 billion in net fiscal savings to state and local taxpayers through Fiscal Year 2022. The programs in the analysis include five education savings accounts programs (ESAs), 22 school voucher programs, and 21 tax-credit scholarship programs.
The Public Benefit of Private Schooling: Test Scores Rise When There Is More of It
https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa830.pdf
This Policy Analysis from the Cato Institute examines the effect increased access to private schooling has had on international student test scores in 52 countries. The Cato researchers found that a 1 percentage point increase in the share of private school enrollment would lead to moderate increases in students’ math, reading, and science achievement.
Nothing in this Research & Commentary is intended to influence the passage of legislation, and it does not necessarily represent the views of The Heartland Institute. For further information on this subject, visit School Reform News, The Heartland Institute’s website, and PolicyBot, Heartland’s free online research database.
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Tim Benson joined The Heartland Institute in September 2015 as a policy analyst in the Government Relations Department.
