Public School Quality, Private Schools, and Race

Recent research suggests two competing theories explaining the relationship between public school performance and private school enrollment. The market reform theory posits that poor public school performance drives private school enrollment. A competing theory, suggested by Smith and Meier, contends that private school enrollment is a result of desires for religious instruction and racially segregated schools. We apply regression analyses to a pooled data set of seventy-three Texas counties over the period of 1991-95. Our analysis provides partial support for the Smith and Meier findings and no support for the market reform position.