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Choice-Based Education Reform

The goal of the school choice movement is to allow parents to decide which of the increasing options—from traditional public and private schools and charter and magnet schools to vouchers and tax credits—will best meet their children's educational needs. RAND's analyses consider the role of choice-based school reform in shaping education policy.

Report

School Staffing Challenges in the Pandemic's Third Year

As of fall 2021, school staff shortages were most acute for substitutes, bus drivers, special education teachers, and paraprofessionals. The turnover of superintendents was normal but half of them said that they might leave in the next few years or were unsure of how long they would stay.

Feb 15, 2022
Report

Challenges That May Be Getting in the Way of Student Learning

As of November 2021, school district leaders' top three concerns were the mental health of students, teachers, and principals. And 74 percent of them said that political polarization about COVID-19 safety or vaccines was interfering with their ability to educate students.

Feb 8, 2022
Report

Expanding Charter School Capacity: The Case of Propel Montour

Researchers examine the expansion of Propel Schools, a small, regional charter school network in southwestern Pennsylvania, to describe the academic and behavioral experiences of continuing and expansion students from fall 2017 to spring 2020.

Sep 29, 2021
Journal Article

Social Returns to Private Choice? Effects of Charter Schools on Behavioral Outcomes, Arrests, and Civic Participation

We add to the research on charter school effects by evaluating the impacts of secondary charter school attendance on 9th grade behavioral outcomes and individuals' propensity to commit crime and participate in elections as young adults in North Carolina.

Jun 5, 2020
Report

A Public School Voucher Demonstration: The First Year at Alum Rock

Reports on the first year of a large-scale educational and social intervention that began in the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, San Jose, California, in 1972.

Sep 19, 2018
Research Brief

Teach For America Passes the Test with Most Participants in Principal Survey

More than 85 percent of principals surveyed were satisfied with their schools' Teach for America (TFA) corps members. Principals who were TFA alumni or who led charter schools were less satisfied with corps members' abilities than other principals.

Jan 17, 2018
Report

What Do Principals Think About Teach For America?

Principals are generally satisfied with the Teach For America teachers they receive, their classroom contributions, and the professional development and support the program provides.

Jan 17, 2018
Research Brief

How Does Personalized Learning Affect Student Achievement?

Describes the concept and implementation of personalized learning and considers achievement findings in a small sample of schools.

Dec 7, 2017
Periodical

RAND Review: July-August 2017

This issue highlights recent RAND research on the prevalence and burden of chronic health conditions; on the economic benefits of U.S. overseas security commitments; and on what RAND is doing to anticipate emerging global security challenges.

Jul 11, 2017
Report

Personalized Learning: Lessons from Implementation

Personalized learning focuses on meeting students' individual needs while incorporating their interests and preferences. What does this look like in schools that have implemented personalized learning schoolwide?

Jul 11, 2017
Research Brief

Observations and Guidance on Implementing Personalized Learning

Schools implementing personalized learning were pursuing a wide variety of approaches and students closed achievement gaps relative to national norms. Observed challenges to implementation lead to recommendations for implementers.

Jul 11, 2017
Research Brief

Does School Choice Mean Students Attend Better Schools? The Case of Post–Hurricane Katrina New Orleans

Researchers examined school choice outcomes in New Orleans following 2005's Hurricane Katrina, including exit patterns of students across sectors and school types in New Orleans and the destination schools of mobile students.

Jun 22, 2017
Research Brief

Online Schools in Ohio: Examining Enrollment and Success

Who attends e-schools in Ohio? How do they perform compared with students in brick-and-mortar schools? And what do policymakers and educators need to know going forward?

Jun 8, 2017
Journal Article

Student Enrollment Patterns and Achievement in Ohio's Online Charter Schools

We utilize state data of nearly 1.7 million students in Ohio to study a specific sector of online education: K–12 schools that deliver most, if not all, education online, lack a brick-and-mortar presence, and enroll students full-time.

Mar 28, 2017
Commentary

School Choice: How Parents Can Find Out What They Need to Know

To make an informed choice about schools, parents need to know about the quality of instruction, services, and the overall school climate. Schools need a better system of measuring and collecting data on performance, and a way to make it accessible to families.

Feb 21, 2017
Report

Evaluation of the Regional Choice Initiative

This evaluation describes the Regional Choice Initiative (RCI), a large-scale initiative in 17 school districts in Pennsylvania. The RCI sought to expand school choice and offer more-rigorous courses for students in grades 7 to 12.

Jan 8, 2016
Journal Article

School Choice, Student Mobility, and School Quality: Evidence from Post-Katrina New Orleans

This paper analyzes student mobility in post-Katrina New Orleans between and within the various sectors and school types using a multinomial framework.

Nov 24, 2015
Commentary

How School Choice Could Disadvantage Low-Income Students

The flexibility to allow Title I-A funds to follow students across schools has a certain appeal. But it could have negative consequences for some of the poorest students.

Sep 1, 2015
Commentary

Narrowing the Income Achievement Gap

The achievement gap between children from the highest- and lowest-income families has substantially grown since 1960. The income achievement gap is now about twice the size of the black-white achievement gap.

Jun 12, 2014
News Release

Choice of University in England: It's Not Just About the Money

Tuition fee levels are not the only factor that prospective students and their parents consider when choosing universities. They also compare employment prospects, living expenses, university location, and course quality.

Jun 12, 2014

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RAND Topic:
Choice-Based Education Reform

Research conducted by

RAND Education and Labor