This paper studies how parents' school choices are affected by information about school and peer quality and how social interactions mediate changes in demand. I design an information intervention that cross-randomizes whether parents receive information about school quality (school value-added) and peer quality. Using a spillover design that…

As parents are increasingly given flexibility to enroll their children in a school of their choice, understanding parents' preferences for school qualities is essential. Using a randomized survey experiment, this study adds to the existing literature by assessing parents' preferences in a controlled environment, where they can be isolated from…

With the upsurge of private schools, parents are struggling with a variety of schooling options. Given the exclusionary nature of privatisation, the market has led to the reproduction of social inequality amidst a plurality of choice. By mapping the school choice process, the article aims to explore school choice in the varied socio-economic…

Many individuals prefer the ability to choose options as opposed to being directed toward a certain path. School choice programs in the United States allow parents to exercise their democratic right to choose what is best for their children with respect to choosing a school for them to receive their education. The problem is that many African…

School choice has influenced several educational reforms in the US and across the world in the last decades. These reforms have often promoted school autonomy, parental choice, and competition between schools to improve quality and equity. Whether those reforms work in practice is well examined, but the roles of policy design such as the extent to…

Chicago Public Schools (CPS)--like many school districts--faces challenges. These include declining enrollment, budgetary pressures, pandemic-associated learning losses, and the need to staff schools with educators and administrators who can meet the diverse needs of students and families. CPS is also grappling with a changing policy environment.…

This poll was conducted between September 16-17, 2022 among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) About a third of parents believe their child's school is…

Policies that expand school choice aim to empower parents by giving them the opportunity to choose the school that best fits their child. Publicly funded school choice has increased considerably in recent years, helped by a variety of initiatives, including public charter schools, transfer options for students under the No Child Left Behind Act…

In recent years, districts have paid special attention to the common practice of "district hopping," families bending geographic school assignment rules by sending a child to a school in a district where the child does not formally reside-usually to a district that is more desirable because of higher performing schools or greater…

Does school racial composition influence where parents choose to send their children to school? This paper contributes to the literature on school racial composition and parental choice by examining the reasons parents give for enrolling their children in predominantly Black magnet schools. We use data from a survey of parental school…

This poll was conducted between December 14-December 16, 2021 among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) In December, the public's positive views about the…

This poll was conducted between October 12-October 16, 2021 among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) Parents' comfort with their children returning to school…

The Center on Reinventing Public Education has long focused on making school choice work. Parents of children with disabilities face greater barriers to choosing schools for their children. This brief is the first installment in a series of reports examining how parents of children with disabilities experience the process of choosing schools. The…

Even though choice is not officially a feature in the German primary school system, some parents intervene in determining which school their child attends. Especially in urban contexts, the informal school market is growing. This demand is based on promises with respect to a certain quality of education as well as on issues that prevail in certain…

There are various studies, primarily conducted in the Western World, that have investigated the reasons why parents select a school, which they perceive best meets their children's needs and parental aspirations for their children. In order to contribute to the established knowledge it was essential to conduct an investigation into parents'…