School's Choice

Wagma Mommandi, a former public-school teacher, is a PhD candidate in education policy at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education. Kevin Welner is a professor and the director of the National Education Policy Center, which is housed at the CU Boulder School of Education.

• Contents1.  Introduction 1The Issue of Access 3 A Framework for Understanding Access 5 Methods 8 Conclusion 12 2.  The Centrality of Access 14Publicness 14 Funding and Finance 16 Segregation and Stratification 17 Measured Outcomes 17 3.  Description and Design: Which Niche? 20Background Briefing 20 Further Research 21 Conclusion 29 4.  Location, Location, Location: Decisions About Site and Transportation 30Background Briefing 30 Further Research 31 Conclusion 36 5.  Narrow-Casting: The Power of Marketing and Advertising 37Background Briefing 37 Further Research 39 Conclusion 44 6.  Hoop Schemes: Conditions Placed on Applications 45Background Briefing 45 Further Research 47 Conclusion 55 7.  The Steering Wheel: The Art of Dissuading Applications 56Background Briefing 56 Further Research 58 Conclusion 61 8.  Send Us Your Best: Conditions Placed on Enrollment 63Background Briefing 63 Further Research 64 Conclusion 71 9.  Putting in the Hours: Requiring Parents to Volunteer 72Background Briefing 72 Further Research 74 Conclusion 77 10.  Not in Service: Emergent Bilinguals, Special Education, and Free and Reduced-Price Lunch 78Background Briefing 78 Further Research 80 Conclusion 88 11.  The Fitness Test: Counseling Out 89Background Briefing 89 Further Research 91 Conclusion 98 12.  Pass Interference: GPAs and Grade Retention 99Background Briefing 99 Further Research 100 Conclusion 105 13.  No Excuses: Discipline and Punish 106Background Briefing 106 Further Research 107 Conclusion 120 14.  Irreplaceable: Backfilling Student Attrition 122Background Briefing 123 Further Research 123 Conclusion 127 15.  Show Me the Money: The Price of Attendance 129Background Briefing 129 Further Research 130 Conclusion 137 16.  Understanding Access 138Competitive Incentives for Schools to Be Choosers 138 Opportunity Hoarding: Parents as Choosers 141 Effectively Maintained Inequality 144 17.  Pursuing Equity Against the Tide 148Attempts to Address Access Hurdles 148 The Rules and Incentives Must Change 155 18.  Looking Ahead: Designing a Healthier System 158Changing Incentives 159 Changing Rules 160 The Importance of Collecting and Reporting Data 169 Holding Authorizers Accountable 170 Conclusion 171 Notes 173References 175Index 213About the Authors 225

“This compact but thorough book makes it clear that for many students, a charter school system provides no choice at all. It is the charter school that does the choosing, not the students or parents.”—Forbes