The 2016 Education Choice and Competition Index

In many districts across the country, families are given some degree of choice in where to send their children to school. But while this transition toward school choice—in which enrollment is based on parental preference rather than zip code—is happening nationwide, the degree of choice offered to families and the ease with which families can exercise that choice varies greatly by district.

On March 29, the Center on Children and Families released its fifth annual Education Choice and Competition Index (ECCI)—a ranking of school choice in the nation’s 100 largest school districts. Following a presentation of the research by Brookings Senior Fellow Russ Whitehurst, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos gave keynote remarks. After her remarks, the secretary participated in a moderated Q&A with Whitehurst and took questions from the audience.