The 2015 Education Choice and Competition Index

School districts across America are transitioning from the traditional model of assigning students to a school based on their residential address to a system that allows families a choice of schools. Depending on the district, families can choose public charter schools, affordable private schools, magnet schools, virtual schools, or regular public schools in which enrollment is based on parental preference rather than zip code. Districts differ in which of these options is available, the ease with which parents can exercise the choices available to them, and the degree to which the choice system results in greater access to quality schools.

On February 4, the Center on Children and Families at Brookings released the annual Education Choice and Competition Index (ECCI) in order to shine light on those distinctions and provide a ranking of the performance of the nation’s 100 largest school districts. The fifth iteration of the ECCI, which chronicles how school choice is progressing, was presented at this event, with a keynote address from Mayor Michael Hancock of Denver, the highest scoring large school district.

You can join the conversation and tweet questions for the speakers at #SchoolChoice.