One of the most visible and controversial education reforms of the last decade is the expansion of school choice.  Whether one considers the increasing array of intra- and inter-district options or charter schools, opportunities for parent choice in public education are growing. Nowhere is this trend clearer than in America’s cities, where in some cases a plurality or more of public school students attend a school of choice.

Researchers agree that whether all this choice enhances educational opportunity depends greatly on issues of policy design, including access to information, transportation, and fair enrollment systems. Yet in many cities, the systems that support parent choice are lagging behind enrollment trends, resulting in a public school system that is difficult for parents to navigate and for government to improve.

In this article, we draw upon a large survey of public school parents in eight cities (Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC) to understand how parents navigate an increasingly complicated system of public schools.  We address the following questions: How do parents view their educational options? What competing priorities do parents face in choosing schools? What barriers do they face along the way? How do parents’ experiences with choice vary by city and parent characteristics?

Our approach differs from past research in three ways.  First, we study cities with mature marketplaces, where a plurality or more of public school students attend a school of choice. Second, we take a comparative look, recognizing that the systems that support public school choice differ greatly across the studied cities. Finally, utilizing a novel instrument design, we are able to compare parents actual choosing behavior and with their stated preferences. The findings have implications for the design, implementation, and evaluation of public school choice programs.