Preference Trade-Offs in Making School Choices: Examining Parent Compromise in the School Choice Process

• In Event: The Process and Limits of Choosing Schools

Abstract

Equal access to high-quality schools is a foundational objective of school choice policy, yet inequities persist in the choice process. When parents prioritize school attributes, they may be forced to make trade-offs, compromising one preference to enhance another. Relying on a rich dataset that employs parental rating and rank-ordering of key school attributes, we investigate the impact of parental background (e.g., race, income, education) on propensity to engage in preference trade-off when choosing schools. This study operationalizes the differences in preference rating (desirability) and ranking (importance) to develop a system of measuring trade-off. We find that parental background is a key predictor of trade-off, indicating inequity in the school choice process.

Authors

• Anthony Snethen, The University of Kansas

• Argun Saatcioglu, The University of Kansas