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What Research Can Tell Policymakers about School Choice
Author(s) -
Teske Paul,
Schneider Mark
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of policy analysis and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.898
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1520-6688
pISSN - 0276-8739
DOI - 10.1002/pam.1020
Subject(s) - school choice , test (biology) , competition (biology) , psychology , social psychology , economics , biology , paleontology , ecology , market economy
Abstract American school systems have implemented several different kinds of school choice policies, and most of themare controversial. The research literature on various forms of school choice reveals some areas of consensus,but other areas where the results of studies diverge. Consensus results show that parents are more satisfiedwith choice, that they report using academic preferences to make choices, and that they tend to be more involvedwith their child's education as a consequence of choice. There is some, though mixed, evidence of improvedtest scores for children involved with various forms of choice. Actual parental use of choice and gathering ofinformation, however, show some evidence of stratification, not always by race or income, but often by the levelof parental involvement and motivation. These results provide considerable evidence about the effects onstudents whose parents have made an active choice, but more policy research is needed on the effects ofcompetition on students in schools that have not been chosen. © 2001 by the Association for Public PolicyAnalysis and Management.