“Shopping for D.C. Public Schools: A Public Opinion Report”

Shopping for Public Schools in the District of Columbia: A Public Opinion Research Report About What D.C. Parents and Guardians Look for When Selecting Their Children’s Schools

“This survey shows that many parents and guardians in D.C. feel comfortable using the lottery and moving children from one school to another if they think the educational grass is greener elsewhere.”

From the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor:

“The D.C. Council has requested and provided funding for an audit of enrollment in D.C. public schools by ODCA, including projections of enrollment in five and 10 years, and a model for projecting enrollment over time. To help the District understand how parents make decisions on enrollment in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), the Auditor contracted with the survey research firm Belden Russonello Strategists, LLC, to survey parents and guardians of school-aged children.

DCPS.Parent.Survey (PDF)

The report, a quantitative survey of 600 parents and guardians of children in PK4 to 11th grade, looked at how families see the existing system and their educational options.

The key findings are based around topics that include traditional neighborhood vs. charter schools, the potential draw of special emphasis schools, understanding the choices, what’s important in a school, satisfaction and changing schools, and experience with the lottery.

In addition to findings, the report includes detailed analysis pulling in differences among subgroups and is illustrated with graphs based on the survey data, the survey questionnaire, tables of each question cross tabulated by subgroups, and full cross tabulations.

ODCA’s audit of enrollment in DCPS will be completed this fall.”