Since the 1988 Education Reform Act, parents in England have had the right to choose the school their child attends. In theory school choice leads to higher quality schools, as schools compete with one another to attract children and parents.Of course for school choice to have this effect parents must have genuine choice. In England, for some parents at least, choice is feasible (estimates of the proportion of parents able to exercise choice range from one in five to one half). However, different types of parents may have different preferences and thus make different choices. To understand how giving parents the ability to choose their child's school impacts on the school system, we must start by understanding more about the school choice process.
