A new paper by Naama Avidan, Ricky Maman and Avrum Tomer studies the subject of “parental choice” in education systems, reviewing international data and examining the situation in Israel. The paper discusses the rationale for parent choice, reviews international research on its importance and challenges, and analyzes how choice affects academic achievement, school climate, the risk of educational segregation, and long-term student welfare. Extensive interviews were conducted with education department heads in districts that implement Israeli “controlled choice” models and the data on how opening registration zones in Israel has affected integration levels over the past decade was empirically examined.

Research demonstrates that broader parental choice creates a system in which competition drives schools to become more efficient and advanced, providing better education and maintaining positive school climate, to the students’ benefit. In contrast, lack of competition is linked to lower school quality, stagnating scholastic achievements and decreased parent and student satisfaction.

The Ministry of Education’s purpose is to provide optimal education for students; therefore, school choice should be broadened as much as possible, alongside measures to ensure that such choice does not lead to socio-economic segregation.