Switching schools? A closer look at parents' Initial Interest in and knowledge about the choice provisions of No Child Left Behind

Whether public and private school choice initiatives usher in widespread en-rollment changes or whether they cater to a small niche of students critically depends on the decisions that parents make on behalf of their children. Thus far, participation rates in most programs have proved disappointing. This ar-ticle focuses on parents ’ knowledge of and interest in the choice provisions under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), for which a miniscule percent-age of qualifying students nationwide have enlisted. Drawing from a survey of Massachusetts public school parents completed in the summer of 2003, 18 months after NCLB’s enactment, two basic findings emerge. First, although parents claimed to be familiar with NCLB, the vast majority of those who in fact qualified for the act’s choice provisions did not know that their child’s school was on the state’s list of underperforming schools. Second, parent