Table C-1. Percentage and standard errors for students in grades 1–12 whose parents reported having public school choice who considered other schools, reported current school was their first choice, or moved to their current neighborhood for the school, by student and household characteristics: 2003 and 2007

Trends in the Use of School Choice: 1993 to 2007

NCES 2010-004
April 2010

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Table C-1.

Percentage and standard errors for students in grades 1–12 whose parents reported having public school choice who considered other schools, reported current school was their first choice, or moved to their current neighborhood for the school, by student and household characteristics: 2003 and 2007

Student and household characteristics	Total				Considered other schools				School was parent's first choice				Moved to neighborhood for school¹
	2003		2007		2003		2007		2003		2007		2003		2007
	percent	s.e.	percent	s.e.	percent	s.e.	percent	s.e.	percent	s.e	percent	s.e.	percent	s.e.	percent		s.e.
Total	100	†	100	†	31	0.9	32	1.0	86	0.6	87	0.7	24	0.9	24		1.0

Sex
Male	100	†	100	†	31	1.1	32	1.6	86	0.8	87	0.9	23	1.1	24		1.3
Female	100	†	100	†	31	1.3	32	1.4	86	0.8	87	1.1	24	1.3	24		1.4

Race/ethnicity²
White	100	†	100	†	30	1.2	29	1.2	89	0.8	91	0.8	24	1.2	25		1.3
Black	100	†	100	†	40	2.1	48	4.1	76	2.0	78	2.6	18	1.9	18		2.6
Hispanic	100	†	100	†	28	1.6	26	2.1	84	1.4	86	1.7	28	1.9	24		2.5
Asian or Pacific Islander	100	†	100	†	30	3.6	37	5.1	86	2.8	88	3.0	26	4.3	35		5.9
Other race	100	†	100	†	28	4.5	35	4.0	84	3.7	84	3.5	16	4.5	23		3.6

Grade level
Grades 1–5	100	†	100	†	31	1.5	33	1.8	87	0.9	88	1.1	23	1.3	25		1.5
Grades 6–8	100	†	100	†	33	1.5	30	2.1	85	1.3	87	1.4	25	1.5	25		2.0
Grades 9–12	100	†	100	†	30	1.1	32	1.5	84	1.1	86	1.3	23	1.3	22		1.7

Disability status
Has a disability	100	†	100	†	35	1.5	35	2.2	82	1.1	84	1.6	24	1.6	26		2.3
Does not have a disability	100	†	100	†	30	0.9	31	1.2	87	0.7	88	0.8	24	0.9	23		1.1

Poverty status³
Poor	100	†	100	†	27	1.9	31	3.7	82	1.9	85	2.3	20	2.1	23		2.7
Near-poor	100	†	100	†	31	1.7	28	2.5	85	1.3	83	1.6	20	1.8	21		2.3
Nonpoor	100	†	100	†	32	1.2	34	1.1	87	0.7	89	0.7	26	1.0	25		1.2

Parents' highest level of education⁴
Less than high school diploma or GED	100	†	100	†	21	3.0	30	4.7	82	2.6	75	5.0	23	3.2	17		3.0
High school diploma or GED	100	†	100	†	27	1.5	26	3.0	84	1.4	88	1.5	23	2.1	18		2.0
Some college/vocational/technical	100	†	100	†	30	1.3	31	1.8	85	1.0	85	1.4	22	1.4	25		2.0
Bachelor's degree	100	†	100	†	33	1.9	33	1.7	86	1.4	90	1.2	26	1.8	27		2.1
Graduate/professional school	100	†	100	†	41	1.8	41	2.1	90	1.0	90	1.2	27	2.2	28		1.8

Family structure
Two parents	100	†	100	†	31	1.1	30	1.0	88	0.7	90	0.7	24	1.0	26		1.3
One parent	100	†	100	†	32	1.6	36	2.2	80	1.5	80	1.7	23	1.6	19		1.5
Non-parent guardians	100	†	100	†	27	3.9	49	9.6	81	3.3	80	5.5	16	2.9	12	!	4.5

School type
Public, assigned	100	†	100	†	23	0.9	23	1.1	87	0.8	87	0.9	27	1.1	27		1.3
Public, chosen⁵	100	†	100	†	46	1.8	48	2.3	82	1.3	87	1.4	16	1.4	16		1.5
Private, religious	100	†	100	†	45	3.3	45	3.0	92	1.6	90	2.1	—	†	—		†
Private, nonsectarian	100	†	100	†	52	5.4	48	6.9	79	6.3	87	4.3	—	†	—		†

Region
Northeast	100	†	100	†	34	2.1	36	2.9	85	1.6	84	2.1	24	2.7	23		2.5
South	100	†	100	†	32	1.5	34	2.4	86	1.1	88	1.1	24	1.3	25		2.0
Midwest	100	†	100	†	28	1.5	29	1.8	87	1.3	87	1.6	26	1.8	25		1.9
West	100	†	100	†	32	1.6	32	1.9	85	1.1	88	1.1	21	1.6	22		1.9

Locale
City	—	†	100	†	—	†	41	2.0	—	†	82	1.4	—	†	20		1.8
Suburb	—	†	100	†	—	†	30	1.4	—	†	88	1.3	—	†	30		1.6
Town	—	†	100	†	—	†	27	2.8	—	†	89	1.6	—	†	22		2.6
Rural	—	†	100	†	—	†	23	2.2	—	†	93	1.1	—	†	23		2.7
— Not available. † Not applicable. ! Interpret data with caution; the estimates are unstable; coefficient of variation is 30 percent or more. ¹ In 2007, only parents of students in public schools were asked whether they moved to their current neighborhood for the child's school, therefore the analysis for both 2003 and 2007 is limited to students in public schools to maintain comparability. ² Black includes African American, Pacific Islander includes Native Hawaiian, and Hispanic includes Latino. The Other race category includes students who are not Hispanic, who reported their race as either “American Indian or Alaska Native” or reported more than one race. Race categories exclude Hispanic origin unless specified. ³ Poor students are defined as those with household incomes below 100 percent of the poverty threshold; near-poor students as those with household incomes from 100 through 199 percent of the poverty threshold; and nonpoor students as those with household incomes at or above 200 percent of the poverty threshold. ⁴ GED is General Educational Development. ⁵ Students who attended chosen, public schools were automatically coded as "yes" for whether or not their district allowed public school choice. NOTE: s.e. is standard error. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. In 2007, there were 57 cases where data were missing for whether or not school was child's choice and thus excluded from the analysis. There are an additional 2 cases where data were missing for private school type and are also excluded from analysis. There were 188 cases in 2003 and 154 cases in 2007 (where parents reported that their child's assigned school was their chosen school) that were missing and thus excluded from the analysis. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES), 2003; and Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the NHES, 2007.