Speaking of stealth vouchers, South Dakota started pumping public dollars into private religious schools in the 2016–2017 school year. That public investment in private schools does not appear to be boosting college readiness; South Dakota ACT scores are down almost a full point from their steady peak from 2014 through 2018:
South Dakota students’ average ACT score in 2025 is slightly lower than last year and is unimproved for a fifth straight year, but it remains higher than the national average.
The state Department of Education released results of the college readiness exam Wednesday. South Dakota students earned an average composite score of 21. The highest possible score on the ACT is 36.
South Dakota’s results continued a trend of lower scores since the state’s recent high of 21.9 in 2018. The state averaged 21.1 in each of 2023 and 2024. The minimum score for acceptance at the state’s public universities is 18 [Makenzie Huber, “South Dakota’s ACT Score Declines But Outperforms Similar States and National Average,” South Dakota Searchlight, 2025.10.15].
I don’t know if Education Secretary Joe Graves has some data showing ACT improvements among voucher kids specifically, but you would think that the state would focus on promoting education policies that lift all boats. Stealth vouchers don’t appear to be lifting ACT scores.
Last year ProPublica revealed that vouchers don’t have to meet the level of transparency that Arizona requires of public schools.
https://www.propublica.org/article/arizona-school-vouchers-budget-meltdown