This article discusses the results of a series of multiple regressions performed to predict how closely 490 eighth grade students' approaches to searching for and selecting high schools matched the New York City Department of Education's recommendations. Results indicate that children of Latin American immigrant mothers were less likely to follow…

Little is known about the costs charter schools incur to foster security--a vexing phenomenon when one considers policymakers' and parents' seemingly high and growing want for school safety. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics and Texas, we reveal how much charter schools spend on security, how they put these resources to…

In this essay, the author reviews "Education Reform in New York City: Ambitious Change in the Nation's Most Complex School System," by Jennifer A. O'Day, Catherine S. Bitter, and Louis Gomez. The book under review explores a larger set of issues, and some time has passed. But many of the issues studied remain relevant and the consistent responses…

This article presents the author's critique on Robert Weissberg's book titled "Bad Students, Not Bad Schools". The author argues that Weissberg's readable, controversial "Bad Students, Not Bad Schools" (2010) is funny, acerbic, bold, and slaughters more than a few sacred cows of what Weissberg calls the "failed educational industrial complex." As…

This article presents the author's response to Robert Maranto's review of "Bad Students, Not Bad Schools". The author begins by thanking Professor Maranto for his thoughtful review of his "Bad Students, Not Bad Schools" (2010). Professor Maranto is the first professional educator to acknowledge the book's existence, a fact that says much about…

This study was designed to determine whether parent religiosity is a statistically significant school choice factor. The Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) was administered to 215 parents in an urban, PreK-12 religious private school that participated in the Ohio Educational Choice (EdChoice) voucher program. The null hypothesis that there was…

We examine parents' knowledge of discrete, verifiable facts--what we call "hard knowledge"--in a high school application process. Using parent survey data (n = 658) from the School District of Philadelphia, this study examines whether parents knew the admission criteria and acceptance rate at the high school they most wanted their child to attend.…

Gendered schooling is growing in the United States, but little research exists on single-sex classes in public elementary schools. This study sought to find out if single-sex classes in two elementary schools made a difference in boys' reading gains in 2008-2009, as judged by scores on the state's annual literacy test. In one school, boys in the…

Does school choice enhance the ability of school districts to raise revenue? School districts use charter and magnet schools to attract and retain students, but does choice improve the odds for school districts seeking increased taxing authority at the polls? If those parents who choose schools are attentive to district policies, then increasing…

School voucher and education tax credit programs have proliferated in the United States over the past 2 decades. Advocates have argued that they will enable families to become active consumers in a free and competitive education marketplace, but some fear that these programs may bring a heavy regulatory burden that could stifle market forces.…

Since the 2002-2003 academic year, the number of students attending and number of charter schools has grown. Yet, unknown are the comparative performance of charter schools as well as any factors, such as the market-based theory of competition, which may contribute to differences. Using geographic information systems and hierarchical linear…

This article examines whether the large number of school exits from the Milwaukee school voucher program is evidence of a marketplace. Two logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression models tested the relation between the inability to draw large numbers of voucher students and the ability for a private school to remain viable. Data on…

Analysts of charter school reform have recently begun to investigate the enrollment patterns of special student populations, namely, low-income students, students classified as special education, and those with English language learner status. Using 3 recent years of data from the New York State School Report Cards and analyzing the charter…

In this commentary Yagnamurthy raises several issues such as right to education, English as the medium of instruction, and quality of education in low-fee and unrecognized schools. Also, Yagnamurthy is of the view that both public and private sectors need to endeavor for equitable participation of all children in education. Tooley replies.

The authors describe how Latino students are underrepresented in public schools of choice. They provide evidence to refute the claim that Latino students who choose to leave assigned public schools enroll in religious schools instead. Charter schools stand out as the type of public schools of choice where Latino students are well represented.…