School Choice – Professional Perspectives

In “The Promise and Pitfalls of Charter Schools After 25 Years,” education consultant Kevin Fitzgerald evaluates the role of choice, the state of performance evaluation, governance structures and the future of charter schools. Though Fitzgerald questions the effect of patchwork governance and high number of parties involved in charter oversight, Fitzgerald does not take a hard and fast stance on the value of charters, but rather considers them a work in progress (Fitzgerald, 2015).   

In Arianna Prothero’s “School Choice Creates Challenges for Parents. What Are Cities Doing to Help?” draws attention to the challenge parents face in navigating choice architecture for their children. Prothero is a staff writer for Education Week.

Many Options, Little Support

Since parties on “both sides” of the charter performance debate mobilize the same statistics to draw conclusions in support of their argument, school choosers are left with a challenging decision (Fitzgerald, 2015). Prothero (2017) cites a report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education asserting that cities like Los Angeles give school choosers many options, but little support. Effectively school choice does not necessarily guarantee access. When cities do not have, free valuable tools such as comprehensive guidebooks including information about school culture, academic performance and accommodations, school choice can seriously disadvantage poor parents (Prothero, 2017). This is especially true given the rise of private consultants assisting those who can afford them in the school choice process (Prothero, 2017).

The Role of Expertise

In the landscape of school choice described by Prothero in which expertise is increasingly relied upon by those who can afford it, Fitzgerald’s lack of a strong stance on charters in his big picture evaluation serves to reaffirm the challenges school choosers face in selecting a best-fit school. Fitzgerald suggest that “the continued growth of charter schools ultimately depends on whether families see them as a viable option, an issue that might have as much to do with branding and public relations as it does with quality” (Fitzgerald, 2015). When outside consultants become involved, branding and public relations play an even larger role in choosers’ school evaluation.

Becoming Informed Consumers?

Prothero (2017) claims parents become more informed consumers when given the chance to pick schools, an assertion she backs up with an EdNext report. The report finds that school choice policies incentivize parents to be better informed about the schools in their system, however, Fitzgerald illuminates that simply having that data and information still may not provide clarity.  For example, many charter schools “backfill” seats that open up when students leave such that the “most successful students are those that remain in the schools,” an “informal selection process” (Fitzgerald, 2015).

Access to Information is Key 

Ultimately, school choice can place an enormous and unequal burden on choosers to determine the best possible school fit. Both Fitzgerald and Prothero suggest that free, accessible information is key to enabling choosers to make the best possible decisions.