This article discusses quantitative research on homeschooling, including the available data, pitfalls of using the data, estimates of the number of homeschooled children, part-time homeschooling, and why families homeschool. I compare research on homeschooling to research on charter schools, voucher programs, and private schools.

School counselors, when serving as consultants and assuming consultee roles, can contribute significantly to the well-being of gifted students at all school levels. This article summarizes pertinent current training of school counselors, social and emotional concerns of gifted children and adolescents, and the practice of consultation as it…

Examines research and survey results, as well as reports of specific cases, to determine the popularity, effectiveness, impact on public schooling, and implications for handicapped, disruptive, and minority students of providing educational choice. Considers the current availability of options, competition from private schools, and constitutional…

The voucher system in Denmark combines unrestricted generous subsidies with substantial autonomy of private schools as to schedule and teaching methods. This has produced a private school sector with a wide variety of school types. This paper uses data on eight cohorts of students (over 510,000 individuals) to compare educational attainment in…

For this systematic review, the author examines 59 findings from 21 quantitative studies regarding the effects of school choice on seven civic values that relate to the capacity of individuals to perform as effective citizens in a representative democracy. The values, in order from the most studied to the least studied, are: (1) Political…

"Handicapping the Handicapped" is a book about the special education referral process, and promotes the concept that the designation "handicap" exists only as a result of institutional practices and cultural systems. Two reviews are presented here: one by an anthropologist and one by a special educator. (LHW)

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2002) has generated controversy and support since its inception. Parents, teachers, researchers, authors, advocates, protesters, and politicians have shared views and opinions based on "political" beliefs, biases, and anecdotal and research-based evidence that supports their stance. In attempt to…

As the number of schools that must allow their students to transfer to another school under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) rises, and as more parents become aware of their options, there will likely be a considerable increase in the number of parents requesting transfers. These likely increases, however, will often occur in districts where, up to…

Synthesizes lessons from school finance research that employs computational structural models to investigate different policy proposals. Suggests that full equilibrium analysis may lead to outcomes that differ from those predicted by partial equilibrium models. (Contains 50 references and 47 notes.) (JOW)

Four years after the enactment of the "No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)," the revolutionary changes to the education system called for by President Bush are almost implemented. States have put in place rigorous new accountability systems and will implement reading and math assessments covering all students in grades 3-8 by the end of the…

This paper examines the post-Communist Czech Republic in order to investigate the possible consequences were a major U.S. state to adopt universal education vouchers. Although public schools in the Czech Republic were relatively good post-communism, there was an initial surge in demand for private alternatives. Private schools appear to have…

By opening the system to competition, popular school choice reforms seek to remake public education into a more consumer-oriented endeavor. While the underlying theory holds that competitive pressures will induce change and improvement in educational processes, research indicates that organizations often respond instead by developing promotional…

This paper summarizes existing research on policy-relevant analyses that have focused on charter schools and students with disabilities. The research was not reviewed in depth and study methodologies were not critiqued; the report mainly provides an indication of what more rigorous research may reveal. Nevertheless, findings show that charter…

A review of the research on school choice programs at city, state, and national levels indicates that choice schools support parents' involvement in their children's studies, encourage parents' participation in meaningful school activities, and engender greater satisfaction. Choice schools do so to a significantly greater degree than do…

Concerned about the deadening effects of standardization imposed by monopolistic education bureaucracies, policymakers in many different countries endorse economic-style mechanisms of consumer choice and competition between autonomous providers as the key elements of "market-driven" education. The reasoning behind this approach is that market…