An educator who has researched school choice says the city’s Education Department puts too much emphasis on school performance and not enough on providing information about school choice, undermining one of the administration’s tenets for improving the city school system.

Public middle schools in New York City can decide for themselves how much guidance to provide eighth graders about the high school choice process, so many parents, especially those without the means to hire someone, are often left adrift to make decisions that will be consequential for their children.

New York City’s high school admissions policy is overwhelming for almost everyone, but a recent study of the materials available to select schools found the system is almost inaccessible for some immigrant families, an education professor says.