Who Chooses? Predictors of School Choice Participation: Evidence From the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009

• In Event: Choosing Schools: Preferences, Restraints, and Results

Abstract

School choice programs are increasingly implemented as a solution for the perceived shortcomings of American public schools. Researchers have focused on the school district level sorting effects but less research is available that uses the student as the unit of analysis, giving insight into the students’ characteristics that may lead to school sorting. Additionally, there is a lack of focus on the quality of the schools being chosen and by whom. In this study, I use multivariate regression analyses and a nationally representative dataset, the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, to address these issues with a focus on students’ cultural capital, socioeconomic status and prior academic achievement. Implications for policy are discussed.

Author

• Sarah Gearhart, Temple University