Third, if schools are more responsive, parents will become more actively involved in school activities, and students will work harder. No empirical tests of these assumptions have yet been made. Available evidence suggests that there is no direct relationship between choice and students' academic performance. Further, while competition can motivate schools to be more responsive to parental preferences, many will lack the resources to do so. A change as profound as moving away from mandatory student assignment could have trouble gaining political support.
Opposition does exist.
Groups representing the interests of minority students argue that choice programs would discriminate against children of poor parents. Students may have unequal access to different types of schooling opportunities. As with most restructuring options, costs are a challenge. Magnets cost from 10 to 12 percent more to operate than traditional schools, and some specialty schools are considerably more expensive than that. These feasibility issues are not insurmountable, but they do suggest that designers of choice plans will need to insure that all students have an equal opportunity to learn about available options and then to enroll in the school of their choice.