Explores issues faced by designers of school choice systems as numbers and types of choice arrangements proliferate and become more complex. Defines elements of a successful system of choice. The system developed will depend on the intentions, assumptions, and commitments present in the initial design. (SLD)

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…