[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-587361-105":59,"doc-detail-587361-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","program-on-education-policy-and-governance-working-papers-series-evidence-from-the-arkansas-education-freedom-accounts-program-who-participates-what-do-they-buy-and-how-do-they-score","Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series - Evidence from the Arkansas Education Freedom Accounts Program - Who Participates, What Do They Buy, and How Do They Score?","","In 2023, Arkansas enacted the Education Freedom Accounts (EFA) Program, providing public funds for families to purchase private or home education for their children. Stakeholders question whether the program reaches disadvantaged students and how it affects taxpayers and public school districts. Using Arkansas student-level data, the study identifies characteristics predicting initial EFA participation and estimates fiscal effects across the first two years, including impacts on public schools. It also reports nationally normed test scores, showing EFA participants scoring above national averages.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/program-on-education-policy-and-governance-working-papers-series-evidence-from-the-arkansas-education-freedom-accounts-program-who-participates-what-do-they-buy-and-how-do-they-score/587361/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/program-on-education-policy-and-governance-working-papers-series-evidence-from-the-arkansas-education-freedom-accounts-program-who-participates-what-do-they-buy-and-how-do-they-score/587361.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"วิน","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-10","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the Education Freedom Accounts (EFA) Program in Arkansas?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The EFA Program provides public funds for families to spend on their children’s private school or home education. It was enacted in 2023 and is designed to expand eligibility over several years.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Which factors does the paper examine to predict initial EFA participation?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The paper uses student-level data to determine student characteristics that predict who initially participates in the EFA program.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What fiscal and achievement impacts does the paper report for the first two years and for 2025?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The study estimates fiscal effects in the first two years and finds savings from students exiting public schools do little to offset program costs to the state, though overall expenditures are small relative to total K–12 spending. It also reports 2025 test scores for EFA students averaging above national norms.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},587361,1792209494,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},2336475104736,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c5e0e5b17e70?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786591360781797222","Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series  \nWho Participates, What Do They Buy, and How Do They Score? Evidence from the Arkansas Education Freedom Accounts Program  \nAlison Heape Johnson, Daion L. Daniels, Josh B. McGee,  \nand Patrick J. Wolf 1  \nPEPG 25-07  \nThis paper was presented at the School Choice Tradeoffs and Evidence-Based Policy Making conference held at the Harvard Kennedy School, May 8-9, 2025  \nHarvard Kennedy School  \n79 JFK Street, Taubman 304  \nCambridge, MA 02138  \nTel: 617-495-7976 Fax: 617-496-4428  \n[www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/](www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/)  \n1 Johnson: University of Arkansas; Daniels: University of Arkansas; McGee: University of Arkansas; Wolf: University of Arkansas.  \nWho Participates, What Do They Buy, and How Do They Score? Evidence from the Arkansas Education Freedom Accounts Program  \nAlison Heape Johnson  \nDaion L. Daniels  \nJosh B. McGee  \nPatrick J. Wolf  \nNovember 2025  \nPaper originally prepared for presentation at the conference School Choice Tradeoffs and Evidence-Based Policy Making, May 8-9, 2025, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA. Updated in October, 2025. All co-authors are affiliated with the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform, Fayetteville, AR. The corresponding author for this paper [can be reached at](can be reached at aeheape@uark.edu. Data for)[ ](can be reached at aeheape@uark.edu. Data for)[aeheape@uark.edu](can be reached at aeheape@uark.edu. Data for)[. Data for](can be reached at aeheape@uark.edu. Data for) this project is being provided by the Arkansas Department of Education under Data Sharing Agreement 2024-DSA-00073.  \nAbstract  \nIn 2023, Arkansas enacted the Education Freedom Accounts (EFA) Program, which provides public funds to families to spend on their children’s private or home education. Many stakeholders have raised concerns about the program’s ability to serve disadvantaged students and its fiscal impact on taxpayers and public school districts. Using student-level data from the Arkansas Department of Education, we determine the student characteristics that predict initial participation in the EFA program. We also estimate the program’s fiscal effects in its first two years. Finally, we report the average scores of participants on nationally normed tests. We find that the program’s service prioritization system, established in statute and specified in administrative rules, operated as intended disproportionally to enroll students with various characteristics of disadvantage. We also find that savings from students exiting public schools did little to offset the program’s cost to the state, though overall expenditures were small relative to Arkansas’s total K–12 education spending. Fiscal impacts are more likely to be felt locally, though potential funding declines represent a small share of district budgets. We analyze transaction-level data to understand how families allocate EFA funds, offering insights into program implementation and its implications for broader school choice policy. Finally, we report the 2025 test scores of EFA students, which average above national norms.  \nKeywords: Education Savings Account, school voucher, school choice participation, fiscal impact, student achievement  \nIntroduction  \nIn 2023, the Arkansas Legislature passed Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ signature legislation, the Literacy, Empowerment, Accountability, Readiness, Networking, and Safety (LEARNS) Act (Act 237), establishing the state’s first education savings account (ESA)  \nprogram, among other reforms. This program, called the Education Freedom Accounts (EFA) Program, would roll out over the next three years, eventually making every K-12 student residing in Arkansas eligible to apply for the 2025-26 school year. The state allocates funds for this program to the Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account Fund, separate from the Arkansas public school system budget.  \nNobel Laurea","cbCaijQ7t21wK9oB","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijQ7t21wK9oB","pdf",1969226,75,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Origins and rationale of education savings accounts\n## Arkansas EFA program implementation and eligibility\n# Evidence and findings (from later sections)","[{\"question\":\"What is the Education Freedom Accounts (EFA) Program in Arkansas?\",\"answer\":\"The EFA Program provides public funds for families to spend on their children’s private school or home education. It was enacted in 2023 and is designed to expand eligibility over several years.\"},{\"question\":\"Which factors does the paper examine to predict initial EFA participation?\",\"answer\":\"The paper uses student-level data to determine student characteristics that predict who initially participates in the EFA program.\"},{\"question\":\"What fiscal and achievement impacts does the paper report for the first two years and for 2025?\",\"answer\":\"The study estimates fiscal effects in the first two years and finds savings from students exiting public schools do little to offset program costs to the state, though overall expenditures are small relative to total K–12 spending. It also reports 2025 test scores for EFA students averaging above national norms.\"}]","Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series - Evidence from the Arkansas Education Freedom Accounts Program - Who Participates, What Do They Buy, and How Do They Score? | PDF",1792061636,189]