Reasons for parental choice of urban schools

Abstract

Much of the discussion around why parents choose certain schools focuses on parents who choose an alternative to their attendance-zone school, usually a magnet or private school. However, in reality, many more parents exercise choice. Parents who seek information, look at alternative schools, but then decide to choose their assigned attendance-zone school are also participants in a system of school choice. This study explores differences in race, socioeconomic status, and reasons for choice among four groups of parents in one urban school district with a controlled parental choice plan: (1) magnet school choosers; (2) integrated non-magnet school choosers; (3) non-integrated non-magnet school choosers (i.e. 98% or greater African-American enrolments); and (4) non-choosers (i.e. those parents who do not seek information to engage in the decision-making process regarding choice of school). The results of the analysis indicate that parent background characteristics, parents' reasons for choosing a particular school, satisfaction with public schools, and distance between the home and school differentiate between parents who choose magnets, parents who choose non-magnets, and non-choosers.