The primary purpose of this study was to examine how teachers, parents, and students viewed their charter school as effective when effectiveness was defined by the following 11 characteristics: (a) instructional leadership, (b) clear mission, (c) safe and orderly environment, (d) positive school climate, (e) high expectations, (f) frequent monitoring, (g) basic skills, (h) opportunities for learning, (i) parent and community involvement, (j) professional development and (k) teacher involvement. Two exemplary open-enrollment charter schools in Texas were used in this study. All 24 teacher, parent, and student participants completed a questionnaire that addressed characteristics analyzed for each group. The 72 participants in this quantitative study were randomly chosen to respond to items on the School Effectiveness Questionnaire developed by Baldwin, Freeman, Coney, Fading, and Thomas. Data from the completed questionnaires were reported using descriptive statistics and frequency data. Major research findings for the study were as follows: 1. There was agreement among teachers, parents, and students regarding 5 characteristics. These characteristics were: (a) safe and orderly environment, (b) positive school climate, (c) high student expectations, (d) frequent student assessment, and (e) monitoring of achievement and basic skills. 2. Teachers and parents agreed their school demonstrated effective instructional leadership, a clear and focused mission, and a maximized opportunity for learning. On the other hand, students were uncertain their school provided maximum opportunities for learning. 3. Only parents and students were in agreement concerning the parental involvement in their school. In contrast, teachers were uncertain their school provided parent and community involvement. 4. Teachers were also uncertain their school provided strong professional development and included them in the decision-making process for the school.

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This dissertation is a compilation of three studies related to public school choice issues. Chapter 2 examines whether access to public schools of choice influences a household’s decision to choose private school for their child. I employ a multistate, individual-level data-set on students and their families — for which I have been granted access to restricted geo-code information. I supplement these data by matching students with their respective school districts using geographic information systems (GIS); I then examine whether relative measures of public school choice (PSC) in a school district influence the household’s public-private school decision. I find slight evidence that households respond to general measures of choice, though the implied effects appear to be trivial. Conditional on the presence of either PSC type of school in a district, I find more consistently significant crowd-out effects for competition measures from magnet schools, while charter school measures elicit stronger private-sector crowd-out effects, roughly three times those of the respective magnet school measures. Chapter 3 examines the statewide educational policies and student, household, and school district-level attributes that influence the demand for interdistrict and intra-district public schools of choice. In the context of a multinomial probit model, I also estimate the demand for private school as a third alternative to attending an assigned school. I find evidence to suggest that households substitute between intra-district and interdistrict schools of choice.. I also find that mobility patterns may significantly increase the probability a household opts out of district. Chapter 4 is an exploratory analysis that examines the qualities that distinguish school districts as net-losers, net-keepers, or net- gainers of students in their public schools. In particular, I examine how public schools of choice affect the net flow of students across the public sector. I find that charter schools appear to locate in districts that are net-losers of students, where students are opting into private school. I also find evidence to suggest that net-loser districts may signal better quality school districts with more diverse options available to facilitate positive student-school matches.

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The International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma program has been one of the fastest growing accelerated learning programs in recent years. At the high school level, the program offers a focus on critical thinking, combined with the accountability of external assessments of student performance. A significant portion of the program's growth is attributed to its effective marketing, presenting itself as a program that benefits the entire school community, above and beyond the benefits reaped by its graduates. To date, the research literature on IB schools has been clear about the benefits of participation; what remains unclear is how and to what extent the program affects the educational experience of non-IB students as well. In an effort to learn more about these claims, the researcher conducted a qualitative study of an IB school, specifically interviewing teachers and administrators about the IB and its impact on non-IB students. The study identified two general arguments the school was making to this end: 1) the IB benefits the whole school by attracting students (and the funding that follows them) through Open Enrollment, and 2) IB-trained teachers teach non-IB classes, providing the whole school with an improved teacher capacity. The principal findings of this study suggest that offering the IB program benefitted non-IB students in ways that the school claimed--but only to an extent. The results of this study reveal how certain social and political realities emerge alongside program growth, and how these factors influence the distribution of benefits over time. As test scores increasingly signaled program quality, the need to preserve the school's reputation seemed to prompt a corresponding shift of high-quality teachers towards IB. From the interviews, it was clear that IB classes were smaller than general education classes, and that the teachers with the highest status were disproportionately assigned to teach the upper-level classes. When put together, the case study data points at seemingly inevitable inconsistencies between the claims that the IB benefits non-IB students and the ongoing institutional necessities of the program.

No description available.

The academic intensity of one's high school experience is most important to success in college. Tracking causes in-school segregation that most often results in low levels of participation by students of color and low socioeconomic status (SES) in upper level classes, including Advanced Placement (AP). Using a practitioner's vantage point, this dissertation is a mixed-method case study of AP course-taking at one inner-ring suburban high school that eliminated its lowest track prior to the first year of data analysis and allowed open enrollment to AP courses prior to the third. To track the impact of these changes, five years of AP course-taking data were analyzed for participation by students of color and those of low SES. The data revealed an increase in AP course enrollment by students of color from 12% to 22%, and by students of low SES from 2% to 8%. Interviews with 19 influential educators followed the quantitative analysis. In five years, this diverse Pennsylvania public high school moved from a system characterized by a number of barriers preventing low-income and minority students from taking higher level courses to an institution that has provided a rich choice of AP course offerings, established a Black Scholars program to encourage the academic success of students of color, and created open enrollment to its AP courses. While all teachers had some struggles adjusting to teaching AP courses in open enrollment era, teachers assumed either a resistant stance and intimidating approach to non-traditional AP students or a progressive stance, inviting and supporting non-traditional students in their course. Those teachers who created an emotionally and academically safe environment, expressed caring for their students, and employed flexible approaches to instruction and assessment attracted the most diverse set of students to their AP courses. Lincoln is not necessarily a model school as more work is needed to continue to create rigorous, inclusive learning environments in all classes, yet this study indicates that if students have the opportunity to take on challenging coursework like AP and work to master the course with the support of excellent teachers, long-term reward is sure to follow. / Educational Leadership

本研究主要探討國內家長學校選擇權發展情形及實施現況，並深入瞭解臺北縣公立國中現行之學區分發入學制度，以建構臺北縣公立國中開放學區入學的決策準則。研究方法部分，先以文獻分析歸納臺北縣開放學區決策準則五大構面與二十四項準則項目，再以模糊德菲術問卷進行調查。模糊德菲術調查樣本為三十八位教育行政官員、校長、教師及家長代表，本研究透過三角模糊數整合專家對準則重要性之看法並以適切性篩選準則項目，最後以歸一化之方式求得各構面以及各項目權重，完成臺北縣開放學區決策準則建構。根據研究之結果與分析，歸納主要結論如下： 1. 「開放學區」是臺北縣公立國中學區制度未來發展可行且具重要性的政策。 2. 臺北縣實施「開放學區」的五項第一層級決策準則構面依序為：「學校因素」、「配套措施」、「交通因素」、「教育設施」、「地理環境」。 3. 「校園安全」、「交通安全」、「學校招生過多或不足的解決方式」、「學生學業成績表現」、「降低班級學生數」是臺北縣實施「開放學區」優先考慮的五項第二層級決策準則項目。 4. 改變現行學區劃分制度，仍需民間單位及家長提出更多家長選擇 權的需求。 / The purpose of this study is to construct a set of standards for the decision-making of open enrollment in Taipei County. To achieve this purpose, this study adopts three methods, including literature analysis, questionnaires investigation and Fuzzy Delphi method. First, the literature review is used to obtain initial indicators; then Fuzzy Delphi method is used to collect opinions from experts in open enrollment, which are to examine the degree of importance and suitability of initial indicators. The practical decision criteria suitable for open enrollment are therefore produced. The conclusions of this study are as follows: 1. Open enrollment policy is feasible and important for the development of school district system of public senior high schools in Taipei County. 2. The decision criteria of open enrollment include five areas : school, supplementary measure, traffic, facilities and environment. 3. The most important five indicators for decision-making of open enrollment are: safety in campus, traffic safety, the solution of shortage of students or over, academic performance, reducing the number of students in a class. 4. It needs parents to bring up the demand of “parents’ choice” to change current school district system.

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<p>School choice has expanded during the modern school choice movement and students in Indiana can now choose from several school options including public schools, charter schools, virtual schools, or participate in the Indiana Choice Scholarships program and attend a parochial school. The potential for increased educational stratification across different demographic groups is a concern amongst policy makers and stakeholders committed to providing equitable access to educational opportunities for all. This phenomenological qualitative case study examined how seven superintendents perceive the impact of open enrollment policy in Indiana. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with each superintendent. Four emergent themes were identified: (1) student enrollment and financial instability, (2) marketing and program advancement, (3) meeting student needs, and (4) increased diversity. The results of this study provide a unique perspective of seven practicing superintendents and the effects of open enrollment policy.  </p>