Abstract: This report discusses the most relevant issues concerning school choice schemes, and how they intertwine with equity considerations, through a literature review and analysis of the effects different types of school choice programmes have on equity. In the last 25 years, more than two-thirds of OECD countries have increased school choice opportunities for parents. The empirical evidence reviewed here reveals that providing full parental school choice results in further student segregation between schools, by ability, socio-economic and ethnic background, and in greater inequities across education systems. The report identifies certain characteristics of programmes that can prevent schools from hand-picking their students - crowding out disadvantaged and low performing students. As school choice is here to stay, countries should explore choice designs that balance parents’ freedom to choose with equity considerations: this report develops two particular schemes: controlled choice programmes – also called flexible enrolment schemes – and weighted funding formula.

Abstract: The authors ask whether choice-driven education systems, with comprehensive schools and mass education at the secondary and tertiary level, represented in this article by England and Sweden, provide educational opportunities for ethnic minorities. In studying educational attainment, the authors make a theoretical distinction between mechanisms connected with school performance on the one hand (primary effects) and educational choice, given performance, on the other (secondary effects). Using large national data sets and recently developed methods, they show that performance effects tend to depress the educational attainment of most, although not all, ethnic minorities, whereas choice effects increase the transition rates of these students. This pattern is repeated at the transition to university education. These results are true for many immigrant categories in both England and Sweden, although immigrant students are a heterogeneous group. Black Caribbean students in England and children of Turkish and So...

Abstract: The prevalent affirmative action policy in school choice limits the number of admitted majority students to give minority students higher chances to attend their desired schools. There have been numerous efforts to reconcile affirmative action policies with celebrated matching mechanisms such as the deferred acceptance and top trading cycles algorithms. Nevertheless, it is theoretically shown that under these algorithms, the policy based on majority quotas may be detrimental to minorities. Using simulations, we find that this is a more common phenomenon rather than a peculiarity. To circumvent the inefficiency caused by majority quotas, we offer a different interpretation of the affirmative action policies based on minority reserves. With minority reserves, schools give higher priority to minority students up to the point that the minorities fill the reserves. We compare the welfare effects of these policies. The deferred acceptance algorithm with minority reserves Pareto dominates the one with majority quotas. Our simulations, which allow for correlations between student preferences and school priorities, indicate that minorities are, on average, better off with minority reserves while adverse effects on majorities are mitigated.

Abstract: Religion, politics, and schools are a volatile mixture in the national debate over various proposals for school choice, proposals in which students would no longer be constrained to attend the public-school district in which they live, but could instead use government-supplied vouchers or tuition subsidies to offset the costs of attending a private school. The national debate has reached the level of presidential politics and led to well-known private-school choice experiments such as those currently underway in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Cleveland, Ohio. Underlying the school-choice movement is the widely held belief that private schools respond to competition in ways public schools do not, and consequently are superior to public schools in providing educational services. Some basic empirical evidence seems to bear this contention out: Private-school students routinely perform at a higher level on standardized tests and are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college than their public-school counterparts, even with many other observed differences, such as family income, parental education levels, and school inputs, held constant. Indeed, despite substantial performance differentials between publicand private-school students, private

Abstract: School choice policy, especially as embedded in No Child Left Behind, assumes that empowering parents with choice will improve education by holding schools accountable and will reenergize democratic participation in public education. While parents are seen as critical change agents, little research documents how engaging in school choice affects parents’ lived experiences as citizens engaged in the democratic process. This 1-year case study based on parent interviews and participant observation at a foreign language immersion magnet school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, suggests that choice works in complex, contradictory ways to both empower and disempower parents as participatory citizens in democratic change and that market-driven school choice situates parents as consumers and thus redefines education as a private rather than a public good. The implications for fulfilling the promises of parent empowerment through school choice are examined.

Abstract: Almost fifty years ago the Coleman Report, widely regarded as the most important educational study of the twentieth century, found that the most powerful predictor of academic achievement is the socioeconomic status of a child's family. The second most important predictor is the socioeconomic status of the classmates in his or her school. Until very recently, the importance of this second finding has been consciously ignored by policymakers, and the national education debate has centered on trying to "fix" high-poverty schools by pouring greater resources into them, paying educators more to teach in them, or turning them into charter schools. At the local level, however, eighty school districts educating four million students now consciously seek to integrate schools by socioeconomic status. The Future of School Integration looks at how socioeconomic school integration has been pursued as a strategy to reduce the proportion of high-poverty schools and therefore to improve the performance of students overall. It examines whether students learn more in socioeconomically integrated schools uand pre-K programs uthan in high-poverty institutions and explores the costs and benefits of integration programs. The book also investigates whether such integration is logistically and politically feasible, looking at the promises and pitfalls of both intradistrict and interdistrict integration programs. Finally, it examines the relevance of socioeconomic integration strategies being pursued by states and localities to the ongoing policy debates in Washington over efforts to turn around the nation's lowest-performing schools and to improve the quality of charter schools. Contributors include Stephanie Aberger (Expeditionary Learning), Marco Basile (Harvard University), Jennifer Jellison Holme (University of TexasuAustin), Ann Mantil (Harvard), Anne G. Perkins, Jeanne L. Reid (Teachers College), Meredith P. Richards (University of TexasuAustin), Heather Schwartz (RAND), Kori J. Stroub (University of TexasuAustin), and Sheneka M. Williams (University of Georgia).

Abstract: Introduction to Tipping In Research Design Gentry Parents: Their School Choice Preferences and their Process of Choosing a School Tipping In: Attracting the Innovator and Early Adopter GPs to Segregated Schools Solving the Collective Action Problem Tipping In: Retaining the Innovator and Early Adopter GPs Tipping In: Attractive Early Majority GPs to a Stage 2 Changing School Tipping In: Retaining the Early Majority GPs, a Crucial Period in the School Integration Process Tipping In: a Diverse School Summary and Policy Recommendations References Appendices Tables

Abstract: This article investigates how Michigan’s charter school policy influences the composition of students by race and socioeconomic status in urban traditional public schools. Using 2 years of student-level data in Michigan’s urban elementary and middle schools, the dynamic student transfers between charter schools and TPSs are analyzed through a series of hierarchical generalized linear models. The two-way transfer analysis shows that the student sorting under the charter school program tends to intensify the isolation of disadvantaged students in less effective urban schools serving a high concentration of similarly disadvantaged students. The findings imply that a challenge for the state policy makers is to help disadvantaged students who are left behind in the most disadvantaged schools, without significantly reducing the benefits to students who take advantage of school choice.

Abstract: As subjects of the parental right to choose (DES, 1988), parents are called upon to fulfill certain duties and responsibilities when choosing a secondary school for their child, with the expectation that they might navigate the school system ‘successfully’ and become ‘better informed consumers’ (DCSF, 2008). To comply with these rules of citizenship parents are encouraged to make use of a variety of information on schools as part of a realistic and informed choice, one that is consummate with their role as consumer-spectator. Such ‘cognitive mapping’ is evident in school brochures and websites where choice is assembled on the basis of visual iconography and narrative terrains. This leads to a consideration of how choice is visually mediated and communicated through the circulation of symbols and the structure of narratives. To explain these phenomena, I analyze and compare the ways in which two all-girls faith secondary schools attempt to (further) define themselves, culturally, historically and pedagogically, in a crowded field of choice. I conclude the paper with a discussion of the benefits and insights generated through a visually orientated approach to the study of school choice.

Abstract: For 44 years, I’ve had the privilege of observing, studying, and at times participating in major policy efforts to improve the nation’s schools—first as counsel to a Congressional committee and later as head of the Center on Education Policy (CEP), a nationally recognized think tank. Now, approaching retirement, I have an opportunity to reflect on the results of these efforts and their lessons for future policies.

Abstract: This article reports on a research project that investigated the aspirations of primary and secondary school students about access to, and participation in higher education. The research was undertaken at schools in low socio-economic status regional and rural areas of north-eastern New South Wales. The paper discusses the background to the research and the methodologies used. It reports findings on the impact and intersections of demographics, financial factors, geographic location, and cultural and social capital in relation to the formation of students' perceptions, choices and decisions about participation in higher education.

Abstract: Introduction The literature related to parents and schools is rife with articles that convey a convincing and positive connection between parent involvement and academic achievement (Henderson & Mapp, 2002), school attendance (Sheldon, 2007), graduation rates (Harvard Family Research Project, 2006), educational aspirations (Greenwood & Hickman, 1991), positive classroom behavior (Cotton & Wikeland, 2001), enrollment in more challenging curricula (Heymann, 2000), and favorable attitudes towards school (Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Trusty, 1996; Astone & McClanahan, 1991). Long term social and financial benefits, such as improved health outcomes, decreased welfare dependence, and reduced crime are also correlated with increased parental involvement (Haveman & Wolfe, 1995). Augmenting these findings is research that indicates that the earlier in a child's educational process parent involvement begins, the more powerful the effects (Cotton & Wikeland, 2001). Many of these investigations parallel the original observations of Henderson and Berla (1994), who reviewed 66 studies of parental involvement and overwhelmingly concluded that parents play a crucial role in the instructional experiences of their children. Although this conclusion may strike some as mere "common sense," it is important to mention that these data represent more than just a correlation. There are some clear paths through which such involvement improves student success. A review of the literature suggests that when parents/guardians are involved, teachers give more attention to students, teachers tend to identify potential learning problems at earlier stages, parents and teachers are able to coordinate efforts to aid individual students and provide family services, communities prioritize to build and maintain better physical facilities, schools recruit and retain quality staff and administration and schools are more likely to obtain new funding for after-school programs and other innovative supports (Zill & Nord, 1994; Epstein, 1995; Mediratta & Fruchter, 2001). Thus, it is not an overstatement to suggest that when parents "show up," they have enormous potential to positively impact the intellectual, emotional, and physical development of their children, school, and community. Hence, there is perhaps no topic on which there is greater agreement than the need for parental involvement in a child's education (Epstein, 1995). The consensus that parents are associated with a range of enhanced school outcomes is mirrored by legislative policies that mandate increasingly specific, research-based programs of family involvement. In fact, for the first time in the history of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, there is a definition of parental involvement that is designed to facilitate the development of parent involvement practices. Most recently, NCLB outlined a cascade of school, district, and state requirements that are intended to involve parents in ways that close the achievement gap between disadvantaged minority students and their peers. Specifically, these policies hope to promote student achievement via shared accountability between schools and parents. Some of these provisions include "expanded public school choice and supplemental educational services for eligible children in low-performing schools, local development of parental involvement plans with sufficient flexibility to address local needs, and building parents' capacity for using effective practices to improve their own children's academic achievement" (U.S. Department of Education, 1994). Connected to these well-intentioned policies is a simple message from former U.S. Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, who states, "Schools can't improve without the help of parents" (Paige, 2002, p. A-13). Undoubtedly, the involvement of parents is vital to the success of our schools. So, why aren't more parents involved? The rewards of parent involvement are so clear. …

Abstract: J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2 improving academic progress and substantially improving graduation prospects, particularly for disadvantaged students. This report included data for over 21,000 students from four cohorts who entered ninth grade between fall 2005 and fall 2008. Findings in the report were based on a series of randomized lotteries that were used when SSCs had more applicants than seats, in order to determine who got offered an opportunity to enroll in an SSC and who did not. SSC lotteries are a little-known byproduct of the current district-wide high school application processing system (HSAPS). These lotteries make it possible to rigorously estimate the effects of enrolling in an SSC versus enrolling in some other New York City public high school, based on a comparison of subsequent outcomes for lottery winners and lottery losers and a procedure that accounts for who among them enroll in an SSC.

Abstract: As subjects of the parental right to choose (DES, 1988), parents are called upon to fulfil certain duties and responsibilities when choosing a secondary school for their child, with the expectation that they might navigate the school system ‘successfully’ and become ‘better informed consumers’ (DCSF, 2008). To comply with these rules of citizenship parents are encouraged to make use of a variety of information on schools as part of a realistic and informed choice, one that is consummate with their role as consumer-citizens. Such ‘cognitive mapping’ is evident in school brochures and websites where choice is assembled on the basis of visual iconography and narrative terrains. This leads to a consideration of how choice is visually mediated and communicated through the circulation of symbols and the structure of narratives. To explain these phenomena, I analyse and compare the ways in which two all-girls faith secondary schools attempt to (further) define themselves, culturally, historically and pedagogically, in a crowded field of choice. I conclude the paper with a discussion of the benefits and insights generated through a visually orientated approach to the study of school choice.

Abstract: Educational systems around the world are experimenting with new forms of schooling. One example is the emergence of independent state-funded schools (ISFSs). In the USA these have taken the form of Charter Schools. In Sweden chains of Free Schools have been established and in England Academies and most recently Free Schools have been placed at the centre of government reforms. This article offers clarity of definition relating to ISFSs and chains of ISFSs and charts some of the features of these recent developments, highlighting a shift in emphasis of improvement efforts from individual schools to collaborative chains and federations. In conclusion this article argues that ISFSs are supporting a shift from Individualised school improvement to a collaborative form of Federal improvement, but within the current arrangements they are unlikely to be able to support broader systemic improvement efforts unless attention is paid to both structural and cultural change.

Abstract: According to the 2001 Census, there has been a substantial increase in the numbers of Welsh speakers aged 5–15 years, especially in south-east Wales. It is generally accepted that this increase can be largely attributed to the success of Welsh-medium education. Indeed, Welsh-medium education has long been seen as an effective language planning tool and language transmission sphere to transmit the Welsh language in Wales. The aim of this paper is to look at the main parental incentives for choosing Welsh-medium education in the Rhymni valley, Caerffili County. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to gather information from parents from the ‘meithrin’ stage (Welsh-medium nursery) and from the primary and secondary school sectors. The main parental incentives in the Rhymni Valley were seen to be cultural, educational, economic and personal reasons and integrative rather than instrumental incentives that came to the forefront. Past studies have tended to emphasise economic r...

Abstract: Using data on student outcomes and school choice lotteries from a low-income urban school district, we examine how school choice can affect student outcomes through increased motivation and personal effort as well as through improved school and peer inputs. First we use unique daily data on individual-level student absences and suspensions to show that lottery winners have significantly lower truancies after they learn about lottery outcomes but before they enroll in their new schools. The effects are largest for male students entering high school, whose truancy rates decline by 21% in the months after winning the lottery. We then examine the impact attending a chosen school has on student test score outcomes. We find substantial test score gains from attending a charter school and some evidence that choosing and attending a high value-added magnet school improves test scores as well. Our results contribute to current evidence that school choice programs can effectively raise test scores of participants. Our findings suggest that this may occur both through an immediate effect on student behavior and through the benefit of attending a higher-performing school.