What Do Parents Want from Schools? Evidence from the Internet

One of the most contentious policy areas in the United States today is the expansion of school choice. While many dimensions of parental choice behavior have been analyzed, perhaps the most enduring questions center on the aspects of schools parents prefer and how these preferences will affect the socio-economic and racial composition of schools. Using Internet-based methodological tools, the authors study parental preferences revealed through information search patterns and compare these to the standard findings in the literature, which are based largely on telephone interviews. Based on this evidence the authors suggest that unfettered choice may lead to undesirable outcomes in the distribution of students, and it may also lead to reduced pressure on schools to improve academic performance.