1. Who enrolls in these different types of schools [in Chicago Public Schools]?
2. How does choice change the racial and academic composition of schools?
3. What are the time costs students face when exercising choice?
4. Are these additional choices improving the quality of education available to Chicago’s students?
Public school choice in Chicago has been in existence for more than 30 years and has noticeably expanded over the past 15 years. Since the late 1980s, Chicago Public Schools has implemented a number of policies aimed at improving school performance, some of which led to a dramatic increase in public high school options. The expansion of school choice within CPS raises a number of questions: Who enrolls in these different types of schools? How does choice change the racial and academic composition of schools? What are the time costs students face when exercising choice? Are these additional choices improving the quality of education available to Chicago’s students?
This article addresses these questions and provides descriptive evidence on the enrollment decisions of first-time ninth-grade students and how they have changed in the 15 year period from 2002 to 2016.