We examine the characteristics of schools preferred by parents in New Orleans, Louisiana, where a "portfolio" of school choices is available. This tests the conditions under which school choice induces healthy competition between public and private schools through the threat of student exit. Using unique data from parent applications to…

This article provides provide a new, systematic profile of more than 18,000 homeless students in Michigan, utilizing rich administrative data from all test-taking students in Grades 3-9 during three academic years. These data are part of a larger study of school choice and student mobility in that state. Homelessness is a condition found…

In recent years, the number of charter schools in Florida has doubled. We examine five years of data on students moving into these schools from the traditional public sector. We consider student attributes and the school and district contexts that they are leaving. The better students are performing relative to their peers, the less likely they…

Charter school reforms are predicated on the existence of motivated groups or individuals that create these public schools of choice. Rhetoric concerning charter schools largely takes for granted the supply side and assumes that market forces will compel educational entrepreneurs to open schools. We argue that the motivations of charter school…