Most Western democracies have long provided public funding to non-government schools, but the reasons for these arrangements differ with significant practical consequences.

Adoption of policies supporting school choice, in most Western democracies, has served to settle social and political conflicts related to religion. Conflicts related to racial integration played a similar role more recently in the United States where, contrary to other countries, religion has served to retard rather than to advance public support…

Reviews the status of educational choice in a number of countries, including the newly independent states of Eastern Europe and the newly united Germany. Sets forth the requirements for inclusion in a choice program if it is to be effective and equitable. (SR)

School choice should be promoted only under conditions guaranteeing that costs will be outweighed by benefits. Implementing choice means developing an effective assignment policy, conducting parent surveys, providing for adequate staff involvement, committing to parent outreach, managing effects on individual schools, and setting up a…

Considers school choice and employment policies. Suggests that American educators can learn a great deal from other Western nations, which have long made educational freedom a cornerstone of their policies. Concludes that the experience of other Western democracies suggests that a publicly funded school can appropriately ensure the coherence of…

Evaluates the controlled choice system in Boston area schools whereby any student may choose to attend any school as far as local capacity and policy permit. It is intended to achieve racial balance, equal access, and districtwide improvement. Compares this system with related schemes in other cities and countries. (DM)

"Short Route to Chaos" criticizes the Goals 2000 program, related educational reforms, and the agenda of the Religious Right from the viewpoint of the secular Left. Arons supports school choice, school and teacher independence from government regulation of instructional content, publicly funded schools, and equity in funding. (SLD)

Horace Mann's goal of creating a common school that brings our society's children together in mutual respect and common learning need not be frustrated by residential segregation and geographical separation of the haves and have-nots. Massachusetts' new common school vision boasts a Metro Program for minority students, 80 magnet schools, and…

Educational equity can only be achieved when poor parents are empowered to intervene effectively in the education of their children, exercising their ability to make choices and develop specific expectations that translate into day-to-day support for the learning process. (PS)

Since March 1989, Boston has attempted to implement three elements deemed successful for successful school choice programs: fair assignment procedures, an effective parent information system, and interventions to help certain schools become more competitive. The Boston experience shows the difficulties involved in reforming a monopoly governed by…

This study provides a detailed description of the process by which parents choose schools for their children and the process by which urban schools adjust to the necessity of convincing parents to choose them. The Parent Information Center programs in the Massachusetts communities of Boston, Cambridge, Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell, and Springfield…

Argues that parent and teacher choices are significant for school reform only to the extent that they result in schools of distinctive character that rest upon a coherent ethos, a shared understanding of education, and the purposes of human life. The author examines four school characteristics that help describe how and why they are distinctive.…

Argues that although parents have primary responsibility for education society must ensure that it is distributed fairly and provides the skills and knowledge that every American should learn. Outlines arguments for and against "open enrollment" or unrestricted choice school plans. Describes a system of conditional choices implemented in…

Examines the extent to which parents get their children into the schools they choose by studying assignment of 38,700 students in the Boston (Massachusetts) schools. The majority (88.6 percent) received their first-choice school assignments, and 3.8 percent received an assignment for which no request had been made. (SLD)

Twenty-four questions regarding school choice concerns are answered in this document, which advocates school choice in public schools for Massachusetts. The following issues are included: the rationale for school choice; drawbacks to currently available choice options; components of an effective choice plan; the definition and maintenance of…