"Middle-class School Choice in Urban Spaces" examines government funded public schools from a range of perspectives and scholarship in order to examine the historical, political and economic conditions of public schooling within a globalized, post-welfare context. In this book, Rowe argues that post-welfare policy conditions are…

The "Report on the Condition of Education" is a congressionally mandated annual report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Using the most recent data available (at the time this report was written) from NCES and other sources, the report contains key indicators on the condition of education in the United States at…

In comparing one public school to another, discussions frequently include talk concerning the socio economics of a school or district, which then leads to talk about the advantages that one socioeconomic setting has over another. Educators tend to agree that low academic achievement frequently associated with a low socioeconomic status is a…

This paper examines school choice reforms in one key state, within the broader context of public education and privatization. Choice advocates describe the public nature of charter schools in terms of access, funding, choice, and effects. Critics see charter schools as precursors to more market-based reforms such as vouchers. In reviewing the…

To assess the relative effectiveness of public and private school environments, researchers must distinguish between the effects of the schools' programs and the students' innate abilities. Student background variables do not appear to account for all the important differences among students attending public and private schools. This document…

State legislatures have become increasingly willing to experiment with school choice. Since 1985, more than half the states have passed school choice laws. This article reports on a survey conducted in the summer of 1991 and updated in the fall of that year that focuses on state choice statutes. Six categories of school choice laws are discussed:…

Existing choice plans, which allow parents and students to choose among a variety of schools, vary dramatically in size, shape, and purpose. Different types of choice programs have different impacts, especially on low-income and minority group students; and it is not yet clear how school choice programs should be structured to assure that those…

The purposes of this paper were to report the results of an examination of differential entry into a publicly funded voucher program in Cleveland, Ohio, and to address other issues around the nature of the voucher population. Specifically, the study attempted to answer the following questions for the academic years 1997-98 through 2000-01: (1) Are…

Criticizes the school choice proponents' belief that exiting students would result in schools upgrading their services to remain competitive. Contends that school choice programs create less than 1% exit from public schools. Asserts that voucher programs only help the families of students already enrolled in private schools. (MJP)

An issue of "Policy Notes" from the Institute for Research on Educational Finance and Governance (IFG) presents the proceedings of a conference held in October 1984 that focused on the question of what public and private schools can learn from each other. The issue itself consists of an overview addressing important issues in the public/private…