Use centralized enrollment, controlled choice, and transparency systems to ensure equitable access and integration¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 against) · 1 study (1 theoretical), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The report recommends concrete management mechanisms for choice systems: centralized enrollment systems that balance race, ethnicity, economic background, achievement, and disability status (as in NYC's algorithm-matched high school choice); controlled choice plans that permit transfers only if they do not disrupt racial or socioeconomic balance (Cambridge, Boston); and transparency about admission processes, enrollment patterns, outcomes, finances, and school quality reviews. These mechanisms counter the tendency of open markets to favor already-advantaged families.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Up-to-date, consistent, comparable, and easily accessible information on all schools for parents, communities, and policymakers

Constraints¶

• Simply opening up the market to parental choice tends to favor families who already have access to a range of options

Target Learners¶

• Families and students in districts offering school choice, especially disadvantaged students

Target Learning Goals¶

• Equitable access to high-quality schools and integrated learning environments

Claims¶

• GoCPS did not produce major changes in enrollment patterns, and pre-existing racial/ethnic and income differences in enrolling in high-SQRP schools persisted [-W]

Related Strategies¶

• State policymakers should pair any choice expansion with quality controls, equitable access safeguards, integration management, and research and evaluation requirements
• Support coordinated enrollment across the mixed delivery system to ensure family choice and provider stability
• Research and policy attention should now examine PreK program quality and equitable access across racial, ethnic, and linguistic groups, and how families choose among PreK options

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Cookson, P. W., Jr., Darling-Hammond, L., Rothman, R., & Shields, P. M. (2018). The tapestry of American public education: How we can create a system of schools worth choosing for all? Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/tapestry-american-public-education