Do Parents Get What They Want? An Investigation of Alignment Between Parent Preferences and Actual Characteristics of Chosen Charter Schools

• In Event: Are Parental School Choices and Education Policy Goals Compatible?

Abstract

Purpose and perspectives
An underlying argument for school choice is that by allowing parents and students to choose their schools, they will be better able to enroll in schools that more closely match their educational needs and values and thereby increase the likelihood of positive educational outcomes such as increased achievement and graduation. Advocates argue that parents will make rational decisions and “will opt for a school that can provide the best education for their child (Berends & Zottola, 2009, p. 37).” The notion is that parents will leave low-performing schools to opt for higher-performing schools and that academics will be the main driver of parents’ school choices. If school choice is to be an engine for school improvement through competition and innovation, as hypothesized, then parent choice based on academic performance is key. However some have pointed out that there may be reasons beyond academic considerations such as location, discipline, race, and overall “school reputation” as factors that influence parent choices (Henig, 1994; Saporito & Lareau, 1999). Given this, it is important to understand why parents make the school choices they do and whether they are able to match their values with actual school characteristics.

Data and Methods
This paper uses multiple quantitative and qualitative data sources (for example parent surveys, interviews, achievement data, the Indiana Department of Education's Accountability System for Academic Progress) that were collected by the National Center on School Choice study of charter school in Indianapolis, Indiana from 2007 to 2009. This paper uses a mixed methods methodology that presents the results of a quantitative analysis of data sources with qualitative interviews with Indianapolis charter school parents. Patterns and themes from the parent interview data help augment and explicate the findings from the quantitative analyses.

Findings
Preliminary findings indicate that despite claiming that their choices were driven mainly by concern for academics, many parents did not switch to a charter school that had showed some level of good academic performance based on passing adequate yearly progress (AYP) determinations by the state of Indiana. Interviews with parents indicate that parents use discussions with school principals and teachers as well as visits to schools to gauge academic quality, not AYP. However parents tend to use observable indicators such as small class and school size as heuristics for school quality more often than objective or data driven indicators of academic quality. The paper further explores issues of school safety, race, discipline and the importance of school location.

Significance
While some previous research has examined parents’ stated preferences in schools and school characterics, few if any have looked at whether parents in school choice systems enroll in schools that match those stated preferences. A better understanding of what parents value in schools, how they come to choose schools and if their choices are well aligned with their values is important for researchers and policy makers who are interested in public school choice as currently designed and implemented as well as potential leverage points for improvement of those systems.

Author

• Marc L. Stein, Johns Hopkins University