A comprehensive review of educational choice literature and selected programs compose part 1 of this report. "Educational choice" is a catchall term encompassing a variety of strategies to grant parents the freedom to select schools, educational programs, or sets of courses based on the specific interests and needs of their children.…

The public junior college was conceived with an "open door" to give the disadvantaged high school graduate another chance to break the poverty cycle and the minority student an opportunity to extend his/her skills and career options. Since its inception in the early 1900's, the mission of the junior college has changed. The initial focus on…

There are parents and students who are to be won or lost depending on which sector--public or private--answers their calls for programs to match their learning styles and desire for rigor, vitality, and variety. This report examines where choice has evolved from, what it offers parents and students, and how its disappearance could affect this…

The history of the school choice idea is briefly traced, and then some contemporary family choice models are examined in detail. "Tracking" was the major choice mechanism in public schools prior to recent efforts to expand the options. The alternative movement within individual schools began in the late 1960's, with many forms…