The relationship between parental preferences and school functioning in 10 elementary schools in the Boston Public School System was analyzed. The educational preferences of 400 parents were determined through survey research methods. School functioning at the 10 schools was determined by classroom observation, interviews, and written questionnaires. While a moderate relationship between parental preferences and school functioning was found across the 10 schools in educational methods, none was found in educational content. Analysis of the process of responsiveness and parental attempts to alter school functioning indicated that responsiveness of school functioning to parental preferences is greatly limited within the school system. Non-responsiveness was found to be a function of the inability of parents to organize for collective action, the inability of principals to influence teachers, the power of senior teachers to select their school, the lack of perceptual accuracy of teachers about parents and their educational preferences, and the lack of legitimacy many parents, teachers, and principals hold for parental influence over teacher behavior. (Author)