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The SCDP was awarded a 10-month subcontract to collect baseline information regarding the new D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program and provide technical support to the Washington Scholarship Fund,
the program operator. The United States Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) awarded the evaluation contract on March 29. The overall effort was
led by survey research firm Westat of Rockville, Md., and also included Chesapeake Research Associates of Annapolis, Md.
Dr. Patrick Wolf of the School Choice Demonstration Project and Westat project manager Babette Gutmann co-led a team of investigators over this first phase of program evaluation which lasted until December 2004.
Investigators collected achievement and other school data on participating students, prepared a report to Congress on the characteristics of the applicants and organized data files for the comprehensive evaluation.
The IES awarded a second contract to Westat, SCDP, and Chesapeake Research Associates in the summer of 2004 to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Program. This five-year evaluation is a part of the D.C. School Choice Incentive Program -
a five-year demonstration initiative offering low-income families in the District scholarships for their children to attend participating parochial or private schools. Scholarships pay for tuition, fees and transportation expenses for attendance
at participating elementary or secondary schools in the District. It is the nation's first federally funded school choice program.
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