Thursday, July 22, 2010

Controlling Choice � The Quick and the Ed

Controlling Choice � The Quick and the Ed

Controlling Choice

Two districts have come under fire this week for recent or upcoming changes to the way students are paired with schools, commonly called school assignment plans. In Wake County, NC, the school board is considering moving away from its diversity-based plan in favor of a policy called “controlled choice,” while Chicago has seen that its diversity plan has actually increased racial segregation. Rather than comment on these particular situations, I’ll offer up lessons from the development of mandatory school choice plans in New York City and Boston that allocate precious school seats fairly and efficiently.
Race, class, and the desire for good schools are common to all of these cities. The picture below, titled The

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