Over 11,000 parents of pre-high-school-age children from the Archdiocese of Washington (D.C.) rated the importance of eight factors which influenced their decisions to send their children to Catholic schools. The sample included about 2,000 non-Catholic parents with children in Catholic schools and about 1,700 Catholic parents with children not in Catholic schools. Academic program, a religious factor, and discipline in that order were the three most important factors for parents who selected Catholic schools. The importance of these factors varied by the religion, race, and family income of the respondents. A higher percentage of non-Catholics than Catholics selected academic program as most important. Religious factors were selected as most important more by white Catholics than by black Catholics. Parents with higher incomes were more likely to select academic program and less likely to select a religious factor as most important. The majority of parents who did not send their children to Catholic schools listed finances as the most important reason while a significant number selected academic program as most important. In general in making the choice whether to send a child to a Catholic school, parents with higher incomes, especially black parents, were more likely to choose academic program as the most important reason. (Author)