Choice, empowerment, and involvement: What satisfies parents?” Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis

School choice advocates maintain that parents who choose their schools will be satisfied with those schools. This study examines the nature of the interrelationships between parents ' satisfac-tion with public schools of choice and (a) parents ' empowerment, (b) parental involvement, and (c) the congruence between what parents expected of the school when deciding to enroll their child and the actual school program. Findings from a study of school choice in Israel reveal that socioeconomic status is a major factor in understanding the relationships between parent satisfaction and choice. Most restructuring and reform plans in edu-cation include an element of parental choice. Whether the plan involves vouchers, magnet schools, or specialty schools, an underlying assumption of choice is that allowing parents to choose the kind of school they want in-creases their satisfaction with their children's education (Raywid, 1981)