Controlled choice is a method of desegregation that is voluntary, empowers parents and school staff, and leads to new and exciting school organization and curriculum. To move in the direction of controlled choice, substantial changes in present school organization and operation must be made. This planning guide, based upon the actual experiences…

This article describes a study of enrollment patterns under the Massachusetts open enrollment law as of fall 1992. Results from 33, districts with 20 or more school-choice transfers, show that families generally enroll children in schools with higher indicators of performance and higher socioeconomic status. (SLD)

Initial studies of school choice in Massachusetts have concentrated on the mechanics of the program, but this report examines why parents choose school choice. A survey of Massachusetts families participating in school choice was completed by 826 families (return rate of 41.8%), representing 987 choice students, or about 23.5% of the estimated…

Public "schools of choice" refers to a new trend in educational policy that involves various forms of competition and choice. The initiatives of individual states range from authorizing magnet schools to allowing parents to send children to neighboring school districts. What these programs have in common is that parents, as consumers of…

Pioneer Institute recently organized a roundtable in which school officials discussed their experiences with inter-district public school choice. The participants exchanged views on the current state of the choice program in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts inter-district school choice program allows parents to enroll their children at schools in…

This examination of parent choice among public schools in Massachusetts begins with an expanded version of remarks made by C. L. Glenn to the Board of the National Education Association describing the parent choice options available in Massachusetts and the ways in which they have developed. Approximately four of five minority students in…