School Choice, Family Characteristics, and Home-School Relations: Contributors to School Achievement?

Urban low-income 5th-graders participated in a school-choice study. Families utilizing choice schools ( N = 73) were more likely to be African American, lower-income, and high-risk neighborhood residents than families whose children attended assigned schools ( N = 100). Firm-responsive parenting, family togetherness, and family supportiveness also were linked positively to utilization of choice. Parent involvement in children's schooling was higher in neighborhood schools. School choice positively predicted children's mathematics achievement and school orientation. Parents who chose schools rated the teachers as practicing more parent-involvement strategies than parents of assigned students, but teachers reported equal practices. Parent ratings of school quality did not differ between conditions, nor did teachers or parents report better relationships in either condition.