How far does a scholarship go?
We set each state's official 2026-27 award against the 2026-27 tuition published by schools on that program's own list. Across 12 programs, the top award would pay the whole price at 158 of 780 schools (20%). At the median school, $2,839 a year is left to pay, before fees and any aid.
Share of schools the award fully covers
Each school's lowest published grade band. Tick: all schools in the table together. Tuition checked October 1, 2026 to October 12, 2026; awards read October 9, 2026.
Program by program
"Schools" are schools on the program's own list with a tuition figure for 2026-27 that we verified on the school's site. "Covers" means the award is at least the school's lowest published tuition. "Left to pay" is the median of tuition minus the award, counting $0 where the award covers it. In North Carolina and Indiana the award depends on income or district, so the last two columns show the lowest award too. Click a heading to sort.
| Program | Award, 2026-27 | Schools | Median tuition | Top award covers | Left to pay, top award | Lowest award covers | Left to pay, lowest award | List date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida FES / FTC, education savings account | $7,463 to $12,217 by county and grade | 255 | $12,000 | 5% (13 of 255) | $3,841 | Same | Same | |
| Texas TEFA, education savings account | $10,474 | 106 | $11,805 | 41% (43 of 106) | $1,331 | Same | Same | |
| North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship, scholarship | $3,574 to $7,942 | 83 | $11,800 | 22% (18 of 83) | $3,858 | 0% (0) | $8,226 | |
| Ohio EdChoice, scholarship | $6,166 (K to 8), $8,408 (9 to 12) | 72 | $8,134 | 11% (8 of 72) | $1,968 | Same | Same | |
| Georgia Promise Scholarship, education savings account | Up to $6,500 | 54 | $12,502 | 11% (6 of 54) | $6,002 | Same | Same | |
| Tennessee EFS, scholarship | $7,530 | 52 | $13,655 | 10% (5 of 52) | $6,125 | Same | Same | |
| Wisconsin WI Choice, scholarship | $11,305 (K to 8), $13,799 (9 to 12) | 37 | $9,100 | 81% (30 of 37) | $0 | Same | Same | |
| Alabama CHOOSE Act, education savings account | $7,000 | 33 | $7,900 | 39% (13 of 33) | $900 | Same | Same | |
| South Carolina ESTF, education savings account | $7,634 | 31 | $8,074 | 39% (12 of 31) | $440 | Same | Same | |
| Indiana Choice Scholarship, scholarship | $6,033 to $8,329 | 30 | $11,185 | 20% (6 of 30) | $2,856 | 0% (0) | $5,152 | |
| Iowa Students First ESA, education savings account | $8,148 | 17 | $9,300 | 12% (2 of 17) | $1,152 | Same | Same | |
| Nevada Opportunity Scholarship, tax-credit scholarship | Up to $10,367 | 10 | $15,910 | 20% (2 of 10) | $5,543 | Same | Same | |
| All 12 programs | 780 | $11,438 | 20% (158 of 780) | $2,839 | ||||
Download every row, including the grade-level cells: how-far-does-a-scholarship-go.csv (CC BY 4.0).
Elementary and high school
The same comparison on each school's elementary price (kindergarten to grade 5) and its high school price (grades 9 to 12), with the award for that grade. A cell resting on fewer than 10 schools is not shown.
| Program | Elementary (K to 5) | High school (9 to 12) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schools | Median tuition | Covers | Left to pay | Schools | Median tuition | Covers | Left to pay | |
| Florida | 217 | $11,569 | 7% | $3,006 | 153 | $13,771 | 5% | $6,099 |
| Texas | 88 | $11,313 | 44% | $839 | 74 | $13,233 | 26% | $2,759 |
| North Carolina | 74 | $11,394 | 24% | $3,452 | 61 | $11,760 | 21% | $3,818 |
| Ohio | 50 | $7,408 | 16% | $1,242 | 36 | $13,000 | 6% | $4,592 |
| Georgia | 47 | $12,500 | 13% | $6,000 | 40 | $12,926 | 10% | $6,426 |
| Tennessee | 42 | $12,765 | 12% | $5,235 | 37 | $16,990 | 8% | $9,460 |
| Wisconsin | 20 | $7,098 | 100% | $0 | 22 | $11,675 | 64% | $0 |
| Alabama | 29 | $7,500 | 41% | $500 | 28 | $8,774 | 25% | $1,774 |
| South Carolina | 29 | $7,925 | 41% | $291 | 24 | $9,858 | 29% | $2,224 |
| Indiana | 17 | $9,327 | 35% | $998 | 22 | $12,577 | 18% | $4,248 |
| Iowa | 14 | $9,042 | 14% | $894 | 6 | Fewer than 10 schools | ||
| Nevada | 8 | Fewer than 10 schools | 4 | Fewer than 10 schools | ||||
Top award. Ranged programs at the lowest award are in the CSV.
How each award was applied
- Florida Family Empowerment and Tax Credit Scholarships: $7,463 to $12,217 by county and grade. The award depends on the student's county of residence. We use the row for the school's own county: the grades K to 3 amount for the elementary price, grades 4 to 8 for a middle school price and grades 9 to 12 for the high school price. Source: Step Up For Students, 2026-27 scholarship amounts by district (FTC and FES-EO). List .
- Texas Education Freedom Accounts: $10,474. One amount for every private school student without a disability. Source: Texas Education Freedom Accounts, official site (Texas Comptroller). List .
- North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship: $3,574 to $7,942. Four income tiers: the top figure is the lowest-income tier, the bottom figure the highest-income tier. Source: NCSEAA, Opportunity Scholarship award tiers 2026-27. List .
- Ohio EdChoice Scholarship: $6,166 (K to 8), $8,408 (9 to 12). The full amount, which goes to families at or below 450% of the poverty level; above that it is scaled down. EdChoice pays the amount or the tuition, whichever is lower. Families at or below 200% of the poverty level do not pay tuition left after EdChoice; families above it may owe the difference. Source: Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, FY27 EdChoice fact sheet. List .
- Georgia Promise Scholarship: Up to $6,500. The program's stated "up to" amount. Source: Georgia Education Savings Authority, Georgia Promise Scholarship. List .
- Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarships: $7,530. One amount for every student. Source: Tennessee Department of Education, Education Freedom Scholarships. List .
- Wisconsin Private School Choice Programs: $11,305 (K to 8), $13,799 (9 to 12). The Milwaukee, Racine and statewide Choice payment; schools on the list only for the Special Needs Scholarship are left out. A Choice school may not charge a K to 8 Choice student tuition above the payment, and in grades 9 to 12 may charge the difference only to families above 220% of the poverty level, so a "gap" here is a price the school forgoes, not a bill. Source: Wisconsin DPI, Choice payment amounts. List .
- Alabama CHOOSE Act: $7,000. One amount for every student enrolled in a participating school. Source: Alabama Department of Revenue, the CHOOSE Act. List .
- South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund: $7,634. One amount for every student. Source: South Carolina ESTF, Education Service Provider Guide 2026-27. List .
- Indiana Choice Scholarship: $6,033 to $8,329. The state's Period 1 estimates, set by the student's home school district: the lowest and highest district. The award is the lesser of that amount or tuition and fees. Source: Indiana Department of Education, Choice Scholarship estimated award amounts 2026-27. List .
- Iowa Students First Education Savings Account: $8,148. One amount for a full-year account. Source: Iowa Department of Education, Education Savings Accounts. List .
- Nevada Opportunity Scholarship: Up to $10,367. The state maximum. Each scholarship organization sets the actual award, and many are smaller, so these shares are the best case. Source: Nevada Department of Education, Opportunity Scholarship. List .
Programs not in the table
- Fewer than 10 schools on the list with a verified 2026-27 tuition: Arkansas (5), Oklahoma (9), West Virginia (8), Wyoming (1), District of Columbia (9). Too few to report a median or a share. The count is in brackets.
- Amount set by each scholarship organization: Kansas, South Dakota, Pennsylvania. A tax credit scholarship whose award is set by each scholarship organization, with no one published amount to compare (Nevada, which publishes a state maximum, is in the table as a best case).
- No 2026-27 award amount posted: Maryland. Maryland BOOST's 2026-27 award tiers had not been posted in writing when we checked; its 2025-26 tiers are on the program page.
- Town tuitioning: Maine, Vermont. The family's home town or district pays the school directly, up to a state rate, so there is no award to set against a family's price.
- No list of participating schools we can read: Missouri, Arizona, Utah, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Idaho, Montana, Rhode Island, Mississippi, Virginia. Without the program's own list we cannot tell which schools take part, and this study counts only schools on a list.
Read this before you quote it
- This is not a random sample. We verify tuition school by school, and researchers started with the largest schools and the schools families were already searching for. Large, established schools are over-represented and schools that publish no price are missing. Every figure means "among these schools"; none of it is an estimate for all schools in a state.
- Only verified figures. Each tuition was read on the school's own website or tuition sheet, and a script re-opened that page and kept the figure only if the same dollar amount is printed there. Only figures the school labels 2026-27 are used, so the price and the award are for the same school year.
- Only participating schools. A school counts only if it is on the program's own list of participating schools, as last loaded (the list date is in the table). We hide a state's list marks when the list has not been re-checked in 30 days.
- The price is a floor. We use each school's lowest full-year day rate for a grade band, before financial aid. Required fees, books, uniforms and transport are extra, so a family's real bill is usually higher and the true coverage lower.
- The award is the standard amount. Students with a disability often get more (Texas and Florida, for example), and some programs scale the award down with income (Ohio above 450% of the poverty level). Where an award depends on income or district we show both ends. Nevada's figure is a maximum, so its row is a best case.
- Small groups are hidden. Any cell resting on fewer than 10 schools is suppressed, here and in the CSV.
Questions
Does a school choice award cover private school tuition?
At most schools we could check, no. Across 12 programs that pay a set amount, the top 2026-27 award pays the whole published tuition at 20% of 780 participating schools with a verified 2026-27 price. It varies by state: from 81% in Wisconsin to 5% in Florida.
How much is left to pay after the award?
At the median school in the table, $2,839 a year, before fees and any aid the school gives. By program it runs from $0 to $6,125.
Is this the average for every private school?
No. The tuitions are the ones we could verify on schools' own websites, and researchers started with the largest schools and the schools families were already searching for. Schools that publish no price are missing. Read the figures as "among these schools", never as a state average.
Can I reuse this data?
Yes. The table is a CSV download under CC BY 4.0: cite ChoiceFunded and link to this page.
Sources and reuse
Awards: each program's official page or document, linked above; every amount was matched word for word on that page by a script on . Tuition: our verified tuition dataset, where every school's source link is in the CSV. Participation: each state's published list, linked from its program page. First published ; rebuilt with the directory, most recently . Free to cite and reuse with a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). Related: private tuition vs public school spending and participation by state. Questions: hello@choicefunded.com.