Public schools make no apologies for screening those who want to play on sports teams or in bands, and there is no reason to take the academic side of the school less seriously. On the other hand, use of standardized tests as criteria for admission, especially at the elementary level, would be difficult to justify. One of the central questions of any choice plan should be whether it expands opportunities for significant numbers of low and moderate income students. It is a myth that public schools are equally accessible to all. The reality is far different.
Affluent families have many more options.
This is a huge, inequitable informal school choice system, subsidized by the ability of families to deduct real estate taxes on their income taxes. In an attempt to bring students of different races and economic levels together, some districts have created magnet schools. Done well, this has had a positive impact on student achievement. However, more than half of the nation's secondary magnet programs and schools, and about a quarter of the magnet programs, have some form of admissions tests. Permitting admissions tests furthers the inequity of the informal, residential choice system.