Charter public schools began as the "research and development" alternative to traditional public schools over 20 years ago, but today they account for significant portions of student enrollment in many cities. In more than 190 districts across the country, charter school attendance makes up at least 10 percent of public school student…

In America today, families in almost every urban community have some kind of public school choice. This report focuses on "public school choice," under which families are able to choose from both an array of traditional public schools and public charter schools. Public school choice has grown rapidly in the past 20 years; new charter…

In at least ten cities across the country, there are schools that operate under some sort of partnership school model: a "third way" governance strategy that breaks through district-charter divides that could help improve struggling schools or increase the number of quality school options in a neighborhood. Like charter schools,…

In cities where public charter schools serve a large share of students, the costs of ongoing sector divisions and hostility across district and charter lines fall squarely on students and families. Exercising choice and accessing good schools in "high-choice cities" can be difficult for many families, especially some of the most…

Many districts are expanding and diversifying the school options available to parents--a trend that shows no signs of reversing. While all public schools are required to test and publically report results, it remains nearly impossible for families and education and civic leaders to make school-to-school comparisons, especially across district-run…

The portfolio strategy is a change strategy for public education in a district or metropolitan area. It is founded on the idea of re-missioning government agencies from rigid bureaucratic entities that mostly manage compliance requirements and interest group politics to a new role: overseeing performance and a diverse range of school choices…