To better promote genuinely equal educational opportunity, every schoolchild in America should have the right to attend a middle-class school. Using a system of public school choice, school officials should ensure that in all public schools, a majority of students comes from middle-class households. We know that middle-class schools generally work well: students in middle-class schools are more likely to be exposed to peers with high aspirations, teachers with high expectations, and parents who will ensure high standards. Therefore, the aim should be to encourage integration so that no school has more than 50% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure commonly used to determine the poverty level in a school or district. Download the report.
Economic School Integration
To better promote genuinely equal educational opportunity, every schoolchild in America should have the right to attend a middle-class school. Using a system of public school choice, school officials should ensure that in all public schools, a majority of students comes from middle-class households. We know that middle-class schools generally work well: students in middle-class schools are more likely to be exposed to peers with high aspirations, teachers with high expectations, and parents who will ensure high standards. Therefore, the aim should be to encourage integration so that no school has more than 50% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure commonly used to determine the poverty level in a school or district. Download the report.