In urban areas like New York City, school choice systems intend to break the connection between residential segregation and schooling by allowing students to attend schools outside their neighborhoods. If successful, school choice could benefit historically underserved students. However, recent research suggests that achievement gaps and…

New York City's public school system unraveled last year in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. Before the pandemic, criticisms of the public schools typically centered on performance measures: Were enough students meeting state benchmarks? Was success evident across all racial, socioeconomic, and ability groupings? Today, foundational concepts--such…

Driven by a desire to improve academic outcomes and transform "failing" schools, governments around the world have often turned to the development of new forms of state-funded school. This paper looks at three such instances of the introduction of new forms of schooling, within three urban localities (academy schools in London; charter…

In New York State, private and religious schools are required to offer a curriculum "substantially equivalent" to what is available in local public schools. Substantial equivalency--which has been law for nearly 130 years--allows parents to direct the education of their children by enrolling them in the school of their choice, while also…

In a 2006 report, MDRC comparatively analyzed its evaluations of three comprehensive interventions -- Career Academies, First Things First, and Talent Development -- to identify strategies that address five critical challenges to reform: (1) creating a personalized and orderly learning environment; (2) assisting students who enter high school with…

The Citywide Education Progress Report looks at how a city is doing across three goals: (1) The education system is continuously improving; (2) All students have access to a high-quality education; and (3) The education strategy is rooted in the community. Across each goal it presents indicators of what the city is doing and how it is doing. The…

In America today, families in almost every urban community have some kind of public school choice. This report focuses on "public school choice," under which families are able to choose from both an array of traditional public schools and public charter schools. Public school choice has grown rapidly in the past 20 years; new charter…

This report summarizes the state of competition in American K-12 education. It pays particular attention to the prevalence and market penetration of charter schools, private school vouchers, and tax-credit scholarships as market reforms. The effect of added institutional competition from charters, vouchers, and tax-credit scholarships on the…

In the first decade of the 21st century, the New York City (NYC) Department of Education implemented a set of large-scale and much debated high school reforms, which included closing large, low-performing schools, opening new small schools, and extending high school choice to students throughout the district. The school closure process was the…

In the first decade of the 21st century, the New York City (NYC) Department of Education implemented a set of large-scale and much debated high school reforms, which included closing large, low-performing schools, opening new small schools, and extending high school choice to students throughout the district. The school closure process was the…

In the first decade of the 21st century, the New York City (NYC) Department of Education implemented a set of large-scale and much debated high school reforms, which included closing large, low-performing schools, opening new small schools, and extending high school choice to students throughout the district. The school closure process was the…

Because Americans are spending increasing sums on education without noticeable improvement in student achievement, school choice is becoming the hottest item on today's reform agenda. Choice must not be limited to the affluent; it is most needed by financially poor parents whose children are trapped in the most inferior schools. The chief…

Poor students and parents in the East Harlem schools of New York City's Community District 4 should have the same opportunity to obtain the benefits of school choice available to the wealthy, who can afford private and parochial schools. Parental choice can provide the catalyst for educational reform by introducing a market mechanism to the public…