“Do families benefit when given more power to choose their child’s education?”
Yes. In study after study, giving parents agency to decide leads to a deep sense of empowerment. Satisfaction with the educational experience improves for both parents and their students. Some students have very specific medical needs or disabilities that their local neighborhood school cannot meet. School choice gives families the ability to better meet those needs.
(2017) Rhinesmith. A review of the research on parent satisfaction in private school choice programs.
This comprehensive review of the research finds that choosing parents are overwhelmmingly satisfied with their private school as compared to parents in traditional public schools. Across both random assignment and quasi-experimental studies, researchers find positive effects across a variety of satisfcation outcomes including safety, curriculum, parent-teacher relations, academic quality, and religious environment.
SUPPORTING STORY: DAWN CORDOVA
My husband was a Chief Master Sergeant in the US Air Force, so for many years our family moved around quite a bit. Since 2020 we have lived in Italy, North Dakota, Texas and now Oklahoma. Our son, Essam, is now in 9th grade; our daughter, Isabella, is in fifth…
(2009) Wolf, Stewart et. al. Family Reflections on the DC-OSP: Final Summary Report
In one of the most rigourous qualitative studies of parent experiences with a school choice scholarship program, a team of researchers interiewed and held focus groups with parents with children who had received the DC Opportunity Scholarship after winning that scholarship in a lottery. They found that parents who chose a new school using the scholarship program prioritized safety, their student’s attitude and motivation about school, and had high levels of satisfaction, largely due to their ability to make a choice for their children.
(2021) Shannon Varga et al. Choices and Challenges: Florida Parents’ Experiences with the State’s McKay and Gardiner Scholarship Programs for Students with Disabilities, Boston University, CERES Institute for Children & Youth.
In a survey of more than 4,000 parents, a team of researchers evaluating the Florida McKay and Gardiner Scholarship programs for students with disabilities found that 90% of parents were satisfied with the programs and cited “transformational changes and benefits” for their families. Families particularly valued the sense of order and disciplinary policies in the new educational setting of their choice, with half as many participants reporting any instance of bullying due to their child’s disability (from 33% to 15%).
“When choosing a school, what do parents prioritize?”
When parents choose schools, they seek to comprehensively meet their family’s and student’s needs. In addition to a broad view of academic quality, families also prioritize school proximity, safety, disciplinary policies, class size, diversity, extracurricular activities, values / character education, and religious instruction.
(2022) Beuerman et al. What is a Good School, and Can Parents Tell? Evidence on the Multidimensionality of School Output.
When it comes to choosing a school, parents rank order their preferences in contextually informed and varied ways. In this causal study of parent preference, researchers found that parents of low-achieving students have a stronger preference for schools that reduce criminality, decrease teen motherhood, and increase labor market outcomes over schools that improve test scores the most. The opposite was found for parents of higher achieving students.
“Do parents and likely voters support school choice?”
In public opinion polling, parents and voters of all backgrounds strongly support school choice policies. While more popular among Republicans, polling reveals that this actually a bipartisan issue – a majority of Democrats also support school choice.
(2023) New Poll: School Choice Support Soars from 2020
(2023) National View of Education – Morning Consult
In a survey registered voters, RealClear Opinion Research found overwhelmming support for school choice policy (73% support vs. 13% opposed). This is true across party lines, with 66% of Democrats, 80% of Republicans, and 69% of Independents saying they support such a policy. Additionally, 70% of Asian, 73% of Black, 71% of Hispanic, and 71% of White voters support school choice.
(2023) New Poll: School Choice Support Soars from 2020
(2023) National View of Education – Morning Consult
