- School choice is affected by the racial composition of public schools, the crime rate, and the religious orientation of the school, as well as the socio-economic characteristics of the student and family, including whether the family lives in a central city.
- School choice is importantly influenced by the racial composition of public schools, the proportion of lay teachers in Catholic schools, the juvenile crime rate, and whether a family lives in a central city, as well as parental education and income. Interestingly, per-pupil school expenditures and tuition generally are estimated to have little effect on school choice.
- The likelihood of White students attending public schools decreases as the proportion of school districts in the MSA having at least 50% non-White students increases.
- When White students in public schools are in the minority, whites are more likely, ceteris paribus, to choose private schools.
- Enrollment in religious schools will decline, other things equal, if the proportion of lay teachers in religious schools continues to rise.
- Parents with higher levels of education are also more likely to send their children to private school, other things being equal.
- Study suggests that parents may view religious education as being more important at the elementary level.
- In order to better understand how school characteristics affect choices among school alternatives, a more detailed characterization of school alternatives is needed.