Who chooses non-public schools for their children?

Using the pooled 1998-2000 GSS data, this study examines what kinds of parents tend to select non-public schools for their children, a question that is fundamental but lacks direct, adequate answers in the literature. The results of logistic regression analysis show that religion, socio-economic status, age, nativity, number of children and region play significant roles in parental choice of religious schools, but race, gender, urban residence and family composition make no difference. Parental socio-economic status is a key factor in determining their choice of non-religious private schools. Currently, no significant differences in demographic, religious, socio-economic and family-structure characteristics can be detected with regard to which parents are more likely to home-school their children. Implications of the findings are considered.