This study evaluates the effect that the size of a state's school districts has on public high school graduation rates. The authors calculate the graduation rate over the last decade and examine the relationship between these graduation rates and changes in each state's average school district size. The study finds that decreasing the size of…

In 2000, an Idea Brief asserted that the best way to improve education would be to give every schoolchild the opportunity to attend a middle class public school (economic school integration). This brief reviews recent research and policy developments regarding economic school integration, noting that school segregation based on socioeconomic…

This report has describes how the young Indianapolis charter school initiative can claim a number of successes: (1) Many community leaders have stepped forward to spearhead the creation of charter schools, bringing new energy and resources into public education; (2) Parents have flocked to the new schools, lining up on waiting lists and noting…

For the first time since the expansion of the choice program to include religious schools in 1998-1999, fewer K4 students are receiving vouchers than in the previous year. This decrease accompanies the first year of implementation of the Milwaukee Public Schools' (MPS) Neighborhood Schools Initiative, which added full-day K4 to 27 MPS neighborhood…

Education has become one of the most important issues in American society, often dominating the political landscape in response to lagging academic achievement and persistent gaps in performance between advantaged and disadvantaged children. In response, a variety of educational reforms have been implemented ranging from increased accountability…

Since the late 1980s, school choice has become a popular education reform strategy. Parents who select which school their child attends do so for a variety of reasons, including academic, religious, or moral environment, and convenience. Differences in the proportion of students who attend an assigned school and those who attend a school selected…

This collection of papers reviews the national debate over school choice, examining the benefits for parents, children, and schools and showing how properly designed choice programs can prevent the harmful outcomes choice opponents fear. The papers discuss why choice must be addressed in the context of the real-world performance of public schools,…

Discusses the dilemma of losing concerned parents as advocates for better public schools when they choose alternative schools, the pros and cons of vouchers, and the free market's effect on public education. A discussion of Mr. Rogers, Dr. Spock, Sesame Street, and various nuns and monks highlights characteristics that are valuable in working with…

Uses Milwaukee's school choice/voucher initiative to illustrate how politically motivated evaluation and compromise legislation can dilute potentially beneficial educational innovations. The initiative's success despite counterproductive legislative tampering and biased evaluation is addressed, along with a discussion of the evaluation's…

Examines the change in black attitudes towards a greater acceptance of school vouchers, charter schools, and other reforms that offer alternatives to the dismal prospects inherent in attending urban public schools. Describes examples of the school choice movement in action and discusses the reasons blacks have begun embracing it. (GR)

The author's experiences as an urban school parent have convinced her that democratic commitments to school equity are central to creating appropriate and fair school choice. Three issues deserve educators' attention: the mixed results of voluntary desegregation programs, political and social agendas affecting public schooling, and the continuing…

Discusses decentralization and parental choice as the two central elements of the current wave of reform. Argues that the introduction of competition to schooling affects schools' need to increase their attractiveness and does not necessarily correspond with pedagogical considerations. Discusses some possible consequences of quasi-market…

Reviews the following historical phases of the recent home school movement: (1) parents' contentions about public schools; (2) home school parents' confrontations with schools and the courts; (3) cooperation between public schools and home schools; and (4) consolidation of home schools. Introduces the other articles in this issue. (BJV)

Much controversy surrounds the idea of vouchers parents could apply to private education. Information about existing private school admission policies, student characteristics, student achievement, market competition, and costs is summarized in this fact sheet. The superiority claimed for private school education can be explained by student…

Describes forms of parental choice that have been proposed as policy tools to improve education and reviews research that supports these options. Parents who exercise choice tend to be better educated and to be already involved in their children's education. In the current debate, many have ignored nonchoosing parents. (SLD)