School choice is a highly controversial topic in Massachusetts' educational policy circles these days. In recent years, the Commonwealth has offered students and their families a variety of school choice options, but very little funding has been dedicated to studying the impact, availability and enrollment trends of school choice. As a result, policymakers are forced to shape a policy agenda based upon conjecture rather than evidence.

The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, with the support of the Boston Foundation, commissioned this school choice mapping research to fill the informational gap. With this study, prepared by the researchers at the University of Massachusetts' Center for Education Policy, we seek to provide independently gathered evidence to better inform policymakers and researchers and to draw attention to policy issues that require further attention and investigation. We believe that school choice will continue to play a central role in the education reform debate and that this initial mapping is essential to display and benchmark current school choice phenomena while providing a basis for future trend analysis.

This report describes the various school choice options in Massachusetts and details the extent to which each school choice option is available and exercised. School choice options that were examined include:

• Charter schools
• Private and parochial schools
• Inter-district school choice
• Home-schooling
• METCO
• Vocational options
• Intra-district school choice
• Special education programs

To the extent possible using current data, the report includes:

• Information on the national context;
• Statewide information on utilization of each of the options; and
• In-depth look at school choice dynamics in the metropolitan Boston area.

This report is intended to provide baseline data, rather than in-depth analysis of the status of school choice in Massachusetts. In addition, this report contains a policy brief that highlights the impact of trends in student enrollment and the availability of school choice in the Commonwealth.

School choice is a highly controversial topic in Massachusetts' educational policy circles these days. In recent years, the Commonwealth has offered students and their families a variety of school choice options, but very little funding has been dedicated to studying the impact, availability and enrollment trends of school choice. As a result, policymakers are forced to shape a policy agenda based upon conjecture rather than evidence.

The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, with the support of the Boston Foundation, commissioned this school choice mapping research to fill the informational gap. With this study, prepared by the researchers at the University of Massachusetts' Center for Education Policy, we seek to provide independently gathered evidence to better inform policymakers and researchers and to draw attention to policy issues that require further attention and investigation. We believe that school choice will continue to play a central role in the education reform debate and that this initial mapping is essential to display and benchmark current school choice phenomena while providing a basis for future trend analysis.

This report describes the various school choice options in Massachusetts and details the extent to which each school choice option is available and exercised. School choice options that were examined include:

• Charter schools
• Private and parochial schools
• Inter-district school choice
• Home-schooling
• METCO
• Vocational options
• Intra-district school choice
• Special education programs

To the extent possible using current data, the report includes:

• Information on the national context;
• Statewide information on utilization of each of the options; and
• In-depth look at school choice dynamics in the metropolitan Boston area.

This report is intended to provide baseline data, rather than in-depth analysis of the status of school choice in Massachusetts. In addition, this report contains a policy brief that highlights the impact of trends in student enrollment and the availability of school choice in the Commonwealth.

Educators and policy makers are calling for increasing the racial and cultural diversity of the teacher workforce, given the widening cultural gap between students and teachers (see Figure 1), and the widening achievement gap between students of color and White students. Some research suggests teachers of color can address the needs of students of color through culturally relevant practices (Quiocho & Rios, 2000). However, recent studies reveal teachers of color suffer greater job dissatisfaction and higher turnover than White teachers (Ingersoll & Connor, 2008; Marvel et al., 2007).

Furthermore, cultural practices of teachers of color, if valued in our schools, need to be developed rather than assumed (Sheets, 2000). Given these circumstances, educators are faced with the following questions:

- What factors impact retention and attrition of new teachers of color?

- What factors support new teachers of color to develop and implement practices that address the needs of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds?

These questions are addressed by a team of researchers at the New Teacher Center, UCSC in a study that followed 21 teachers of color over five years, from preparation through four years of teaching in high-need California schools serving low-income and high-minority student populations.

Educators and policy makers are calling for increasing the racial and cultural diversity of the teacher workforce, given the widening cultural gap between students and teachers (see Figure 1), and the widening achievement gap between students of color and White students. Some research suggests teachers of color can address the needs of students of color through culturally relevant practices (Quiocho & Rios, 2000). However, recent studies reveal teachers of color suffer greater job dissatisfaction and higher turnover than White teachers (Ingersoll & Connor, 2008; Marvel et al., 2007).

Furthermore, cultural practices of teachers of color, if valued in our schools, need to be developed rather than assumed (Sheets, 2000). Given these circumstances, educators are faced with the following questions:

- What factors impact retention and attrition of new teachers of color?

- What factors support new teachers of color to develop and implement practices that address the needs of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds?

These questions are addressed by a team of researchers at the New Teacher Center, UCSC in a study that followed 21 teachers of color over five years, from preparation through four years of teaching in high-need California schools serving low-income and high-minority student populations.

Educators and policy makers are calling for increasing the racial and cultural diversity of the teacher workforce, given the widening cultural gap between students and teachers (see Figure 1), and the widening achievement gap between students of color and White students. Some research suggests teachers of color can address the needs of students of color through culturally relevant practices (Quiocho & Rios, 2000). However, recent studies reveal teachers of color suffer greater job dissatisfaction and higher turnover than White teachers (Ingersoll & Connor, 2008; Marvel et al., 2007).

Furthermore, cultural practices of teachers of color, if valued in our schools, need to be developed rather than assumed (Sheets, 2000). Given these circumstances, educators are faced with the following questions:

- What factors impact retention and attrition of new teachers of color?

- What factors support new teachers of color to develop and implement practices that address the needs of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds?

These questions are addressed by a team of researchers at the New Teacher Center, UCSC in a study that followed 21 teachers of color over five years, from preparation through four years of teaching in high-need California schools serving low-income and high-minority student populations.

In the face of impending budget cuts to higher education, Washington policymakers are considering adopting a "high-tuition/high-aid" model that significantly increases tuition, partly offset with more financial aid. The assumption of this approach is that students who can afford it pay more; those students who cannot, benefit from larger financial aid packages. But the experience of universities that have adopted this model shows that high-tuition/high-aid preserves neither access nor quality.

The multiple pathways approach to high school education combines rigorous academic learning and career skills to give students the intellectual and real-world experience to succeed in college, career and life. Growing evidence shows that the multiple pathways approach holds promise for increasing academic engagement and achievement, reducing high school dropout rates and boosting students' future earning power. The James Irvine Foundation engaged the Bridgespan Group to assess the state of the multiple pathways field in California and to make recommendations to strengthen it. Assessing California's Multiple Pathways Field: Preparing Youth for Success in College and Career offers findings and recommendations based on a newly developed framework that assesses the multiple pathways field based on five characteristics of strong fields.