Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

The rapid expansion of school choice policies nationwide has required millions of parents, and, increasingly, students to assume the role of consumers in an education marketplace. The extant literature provides substantial evidence about parents’ school preferences and information sources about schools. There has been comparatively little attention paid to students as key actors in the school choice landscape.

There are a number of compelling reasons to examine students’ choice behaviors and their role in school selections. First, students are ultimately the most directly affected by school choice policies. Understanding what students want from schools and the barriers that limit their ability to access to desired schools may help inform policy-makers’ decisions about what kinds of schools to open (or close), which admissions criteria or procedural requirements to impose, and how best to disseminate information about available educational options. Next, evidence about students’ responsibilities in school choice decision-making may identify critical supports and resources for students whose parents are not involved to the extent that district officials assume in the design of choice policies.

School choice decisions can be the product of a complicated set of negotiations between students and parents. Consequently, studies that include data collected from multiple family members (parents and students) stand to generate the most complete picture of families’ choice experiences. Such research could provide greater insight into the complex internal dynamics and division of labor that ultimately contribute to final school selections.

In this paper, we draw on interview data with a purposefully selected sample of 119 eighth grade students and 75 of their parents who participated in New York City’s mandatory high school choice policy to answer questions how families negotiate roles and responsibilities for school choice decisions and the implications of distinct forms of student and parent involvement in choice for students’ ultimate school selections and assignments. In New York City, all rising freshmen must submit an application form that lists up to 12 high school programs (out of a possible 770) in order to receive a high school assignment. The admissions process is complex, with school programs varying in screening method, curricular themes, and admissions preferences.

We find that students play a leading role in identifying and selecting high schools to include on their application forms. The primary school characteristics of interest to students vary from theme to extracurricular offerings and location, and most students include academic qualities among their main considerations. However, their actual knowledge of schools’ academic outcomes is highly variable as is their understanding of the distinct admissions criteria and procedures required for application. Parents tend to prioritize safety and proximity to home above all else, and their involvement ranges widely from no involvement at all to filling out the application with minimal student input. In the paper, we examine factors associated with different forms of student and parent engagement in choice and analyze the impact of distinct levels of parent involvement on students’ likelihood of applying to and being matched to high performing high schools.