Question

the movement of the progress bar may be uneven because questions can be worth more or less (including zero) depending on your answer.
read paragraph 4 from the passage.
what is the author’s main idea in this paragraph?
school voucher programs that send kids who normally attend public school to private school are not effective and harmful to public school systems.
students who attend public schools usually have the same experiences as students who attend private schools.
funding for schools should move from a closed system to an open system to encourage innovation in school settings.
giving parents the ability to choose the schools their children attend creates more options for low - income families.
reading passage
4 an alternative to title i funding lies in the idea of “school choice” reforms that utilize government policies and state - funded programs to send kids who would normally attend public schools to private schools. school vouchers are one approach to school choice reforms. proponents of this strategy for improving public education claim that by giving consumers the choice to attend higher - performing schools, parents are able to give their kids a better education. also, they believe that giving people more choice incites competition between schools. state legislatures set the standards that decide if a student is eligible to receive vouchers (cunningham). vouchers, or “school coupons,” are given to low - income families with students in low - performing schools to help them pay for tuition at higher - performing private or different public schools. betsy devos, the current united states secretary of education, is a proponent of this idea: “let the education dollars follow each child, instead of forcing the child to follow the dollars. this is pretty straightforward. and it’s how you go from a closed system to an open system that encourages innovation. people deserve choices and options” (sullivan). however, recent studies prove that vouchers do not improve educational outcomes. for example, in 2017, researchers from the education research alliance for new orleans examined student performance in louisiana’s scholarship program, a school voucher initiative. their results found that students in this program who attended private schools did not see an improvement in their test scores, either in english or in math (mills 1).

Explanation:

To determine the author's main idea, analyze each option:

• First option: The paragraph presents proponents' views and a study, but doesn't conclude vouchers are ineffective/harmful (the study is just one example, not the main idea). Eliminate.
• Second option: The paragraph focuses on school choice/vouchers, not comparing public and private school experiences. Eliminate.
• Third option: The quote "Let the education dollars follow each child... from a closed system to an open system that encourages innovation" and the discussion of school choice (vouchers) as an alternative to Title I funding align with this. The idea of moving from a closed (public - only funding) to open (funding follows students, allowing choice) system to encourage innovation matches.
• Fourth option: While vouchers help low - income families, the main idea is about the broader concept of school choice as an alternative to Title I funding and moving to an open system, not just creating options for low - income families. Eliminate.

Answer:

Funding for schools should move from a closed system to an open system to encourage innovation in school settings.