Recent studies of charter school effectiveness have questioned whether charter school networks can produce a lasting impact on students' long-term outcomes. Our study is the first to examine this issue at the network of Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) schools, which primarily serve disadvantaged students of color and constitute the nation's…

METCO, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, enables over 3,000 mostly African-American and Hispanic students from Boston and Springfield to attend schools in three dozen surrounding communities. The program has been remarkably stable for decades, with enrollment rarely falling below 3,100 or rising above 3,300, and most suburban…

Although the Montessori Method of education is more than 100 years old, the number of Montessori schools in the United States has exponentially increased since 1990. Montessori methods and practices can be complex and difficult for parents to understand, even among parents whose child attends Montessori schools. Moreover, it is unclear why parents…

The inter-district school choice law in Massachusetts was passed in 1991. Its two main goals were to provide education options to Massachusetts parents and children, and to spur competition among districts. School choice allows school districts to enroll non-resident pupils from other districts at a tuition cost that starts at $5,000 but averages…

This mixed methods sequential explanatory designed study applied the economic theory of marketplace competition as a way to frame superintendents' perceptions of the characteristics of students and parents seeking charter schools. Although studies on charter schools are abundant, there is limited literature on this particular aspect of market…

Presents and discusses enrollment statistics for nine Massachusetts school systems undergoing desegregation. Focuses on Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, and Cambridge. Describes each system as successfully promoting desegregation through magnet schools and parental choice. (KH)

School choice is a highly controversial topic in Massachusetts. It is estimated that a minimum of 200,000 students are participating in some form of school choice in Massachusetts; when considering intra-district school choice, at least one in four Massachusetts students are in a setting over which their families exercised some form of choice.…

Pioneer Institute recently organized a roundtable in which school officials discussed their experiences with inter-district public school choice. The participants exchanged views on the current state of the choice program in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts inter-district school choice program allows parents to enroll their children at schools in…

This examination of parent choice among public schools in Massachusetts begins with an expanded version of remarks made by C. L. Glenn to the Board of the National Education Association describing the parent choice options available in Massachusetts and the ways in which they have developed. Approximately four of five minority students in…