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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.

Journal Article
Assessment of Exposure to High-Performing Schools and Risk of Adolescent Substance Use: A Natural Experiment
We analyzed a natural experiment of 1270 students who applied to charter school lotteries in low-income communities in Los Angeles. Results provide evidence that school environments can improve risky behaviors for low-income minority adolescents.
Jul 25, 2023
Journal Article
Teachers and Coaches in Adolescent Social Networks Are Associated With Healthier Self-Concept and Decreased Substance Use
We surveyed 1270 students who applied to high-performing public charter schools in low-income minority communities in Los Angeles. Evidence suggests that school environments can improve risky behaviors for low-income minority adolescents.
Jul 20, 2023
Blog
RAND Turns 75: A Look Through the Decades At World-Changing Research
From anticipating the Space Age in the 1940s to studying gun policy and COVID-19 responses in the 2020s, RAND is celebrating 75 years of research that has made a difference.
May 8, 2023
Visualization
American School District Panel Interactive Survey Results Tool: Fall 2022 Survey Results
This tool allows users to compare superintendents' responses to the fall 2022 American School District Panel survey. Charts display results for all respondents and by locale, student race and ethnicity, and district poverty level.
Feb 16, 2023
Report
The Impact and Implementation of the Chicago Collaborative Teacher Professional Development Program
The authors evaluated the Leading Educators Chicago Collaborative, a teacher professional development program aligned to Common Core State Standards, examining the program's implementation and its impact on student achievement.
Jul 6, 2022
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 7, 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

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RAND Topic:
Choice-Based Education Reform

Research conducted by

RAND Education and Labor

Researcher Spotlight

Susha Roy

Associate Policy Researcher

Susha Roy (she/her) is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. She uses quasi-experimental and experimental methods to analyze the causal impacts of public policies. Her recent research focuses on school choice policies, neighborhood inequality, and school finance. She has also…
Tim McDonald

Post Doctoral Fellow, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Tim McDonald is a post doctoral fellow at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He is also a visiting researcher at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

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