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ERIC Number: ED375985
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1993-Nov
Pages: 26
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Parents and Their Informational Resources: A Reassessment of Findings from Alum Rock.
Lines, Patricia M.
Opponents of school choice argue that economically advantaged families will get the best schools, and socioeconomic and racial segregation will only increase. If choice allows better matching of child to school, then parent information levels can critically affect the outcome. Very few data are available that directly confirm the presence or absence of information inequalities in school choice programs; most studies infer parental knowledge from their data. One exception to this lack of direct data about parental knowledge comes from the Alum Rock district (California) study of school choice in the 1970s. A fresh examination of the original report indicates that in the first 2 months of the program, there was mixed evidence of informational inequalities. At some time prior to the 14th month, parents became approximately equal in their knowledge about the choice program, regardless of their ethnicity, income, or education. The original evaluation reported informational inequalities, based on one of three questions, after pooling interviews from all parents. Two other questions probing parents' information levels yielded no significant differences among parents except that the Spanish-speaking Mexican Americans were more knowledgeable than others. Concerned about the validity of these Spanish-language interviews, the original evaluators disregarded the data on the Spanish-speaking parents. However, their justification does not seem adequate. Reinstating the Spanish-speaking data, this reassessment of the original evaluation suggests that, given comparable demographics and comparable information dissemination efforts, less educated and minority parents can become as knowledgeable as any other on such basic questions as existence of school choice programs, and transfer and transportation rights under the program. (HTH)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. Office of Research.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A