Parents Want School Choice Choice-based reforms, such as vouchers and charter schools, depend on the idea that schools will have to satisfy parents to retain their customers. Therefore, the wisdom of choice-based reforms depends on what parents want. If parents place a high priority on academics, then schools with strong academic programs will do well in terms of school choice. If parents want their children to learn disciplined work habits, then schools that teach such habits will thrive through school choice. If parents choose schools based on their sports programs, then schools that emphasize sports will be successful. In short, the question “What would parents look for in schools?” is central to the school choice debate. One way to answer this question is to interview parents. When interviewed, parents overwhelmingly say that their first priority is learning, especially in key areas: reading, writing, math, science and history. Parents also say they want schools to uphold standards of hard work, honesty, courtesy and responsibility. Although parents do not ignore extracurricular activities such as sports, they give them little weight compared to academics and behavioral standards. Many people in the educational establishment are skeptical of parent surveys, saying that parents who don't care about academics are embarrassed to say so. They point out that it is not enough for parents to say they want high standards in academics and behavior. What matters, they say, is how parents react when their children get bad grades or face the consequences of breaking school rules. Another way to find out what parents want is to see what kind of charter schools they choose. Most of the nation's 1,700 charter schools emphasize academics, though their approach varies from back-to-basics to high-tech. Charter schools also strive to create students who are honest human beings. No charter school known to date has academics that take a backseat to sports. The same people who are skeptical of parent surveys, however, are skeptical of evidence based on charter schools. The movement is still in its infancy, they say, and parents at today's charter schools are atypical. So the toughest test of what parents want may be in areas where it's easy for parents to choose a school because there are so many public school districts. In some medium-sized metropolitan areas, such as Boston, there are more than one hundred school districts.