Parents' “Hard” Knowledge of Admission Criteria and Acceptance in Philadelphia's High School Choice Process

Competition for Students in a Local School District

“…Hastings & Weinstein (2008) report that lower income families were much more likely to express a preference for nearby higher achieving schools as information about school quality was made available. Haxton & Neild (2012) find the parental "hard" knowledge about high school quality and admission processes is generally low but parental knowledge increases the more direct the effort by schools to provide it.…”

Exploring the Role of Family-School Partnerships in School Choice

“…Economists, in particular, have demonstrated the positive impact of information resources like single-page information sheets with schools’ test score data (Hastings and Weinstein, 2008); parent testimonials (Valant & Loeb, 2014); websites featuring graphics and limited text (Glazerman, Nichols-Barrer, Valant, Chandler & Burnett, 2018); and targeted lists of nearby schools with above-average graduation rates (Corcoran, Jennings, Cohodes, & Sattin-Bajaj, 2018). Others underscore the importance of interpretative assistance, as when middle school guidance counselors aid families with high school selections (Haxton, 2010; Sattin-Bajaj et al, 2018). Such studies reveal that the framing and provision of information are key; yet they provide limited insight into the comparative impact of different forms of information; the particular preferences and needs of parents; or the possibility that different social groups benefit from different interventions.…”