Presents a listing of ERIC documents and journal articles on public school choice as an area of education reform. Includes reports, policy arguments, and surveys of state laws and initiatives and national trends. Provides information for obtaining the listed documents. (DK)

This report examines the process behind setting up and implementing a "capital campaign," a program for raising money for new or renovated facilities at private K-12 schools. The report briefly covers tax information regarding gifts to institutions, then offers advice for setting up a comprehensive development program, including…

This digest examines prospects for educational voucher reforms across the U.S. education system. Currently, fewer than 20,000 U.S. students use publicly-funded school vouchers in Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Florida. As a proportion, this figure is tiny. Education voucher programs are neither prominent nor popular now. Whether they proliferate over…

The three principal choices in primary and secondary education include home schooling, attendance at private schools, and attendance at public schools nearest the home. However, parents feel that more options are necessary, due to the inadequacy of particular public schools or the need for educational programs not offered in public schools. Thus,…

This digest examines the role of the school counselor in independent schools. It describes the counselor as an analyst who understands the pressures of college admissions, an advocate for the school's college-bound students, an advisor to parents, at times a classroom teacher, and an intermediary between schools and colleges. (NB)

It is a widely held perception in this country that private schools are superior to public schools. This digest examines school size and school culture as they relate to the high quality of education in private schools. The average private school is about half the size of the average public school. Reflecting Tonnies' (Ferdinand Tonnies, 1887)…

Educational vouchers are the most controversial of numerous school-choice alternatives. This ERIC Digest in Spanish provides some background on the topic and discusses the support educational vouchers has received, as well as arguments for and against vouchers. The digest supplies information concerning the degree of success for voucher programs…

Educational vouchers are the most controversial of numerous school-choice alternatives. This ERIC Digest provides some background on the topic and discusses the support that educational vouchers has received, as well as arguments for and against vouchers. The digest supplies information concerning the degree of success for voucher programs and…

The question of whether school choice improves student outcomes persists. This digest explores issues surrounding school choice, highlighting major research findings. Overall, the ultimate impact of choice depends on how parents and schools respond to more schooling options and greater competition. Research indicates that greater parental…

This digest summarizes issues raised in a research report on fund raising in higher education. The following questions are addressed: What are the changes and trends since the early days of educational fund raising? What are the implications? What is known about spending? What is known about donor behavior? What are the major ethical issues? What…

This report reviews the research on fund raising in higher education in the United States. It considers such questions as: What are the costs of fund raising? What is known of donor motivation? and What is the connection between successful intercollegiate athletics and successful fund raising? Research findings indicating the consistent…

The increasing number of black students in private schools has been stimulated partly by concern about the adequacy of the public schools; a desire by parents for greater choice about, and control over, their children's schooling; and a desire to find schools with values similar to their own. Private school efforts to draw minority students have…

Dissatisfaction with the quality of education in large elementary and secondary schools has been one of the factors leading to rediscovery of the small school in America. The question is whether small schools are truly better places for educating elementary and secondary students. Although often viewed as being essentially rural in nature, small…

This monograph reviews the literature in three key domains (home, school, and public policy), each of which appears to foster achievement in African American children. Three core sections comprise this review. The first section looks at the research on family influences, including socioeconomic factors, the socialization of achievement, the…

This paper summarizes several research findings in order to determine the urban high school characteristics that are most likely to decrease alienation among inner city, minority students, and to make their attitudes toward education, themselves, and their futures more positive. First, the paper discusses the phenomenon of alienation in society…