The ways in which elite schools in Chile reproduce power and privilege within the nation's highly inequitable schooling system are largely ignored by researchers and the general public. In this article, the authors address this gap by identifying and exploring the primary class strategies that an elite school employs to secure their elite status.…

Exclusive boarding schools in social environments where the meritocratic norm is prevalent are faced with a tension between parents' desire to give their children a head start in the competition for educational qualifications, social prestige and jobs on the one hand and the powerful social norm of advancement by merit under conditions of…

In the 2015-16 school year, 75 percent of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) ninth-graders opted out of their assigned high school. These students could choose from more than 300 programs at 138 public high schools. Selective enrollment high schools (SEHSs) were among the most high-profile and most sought-out options. SEHSs aim to provide high-achieving…

I develop and structurally estimate an equilibrium model of the college market. Students, who are heterogeneous in both abilities and preferences, make college application decisions, subject to uncertainty and application costs. Colleges observe only noisy measures of student ability and set up tuition and admissions policies to compete for more…

A sequential screening procedure has been proposed in Queensland, based on what is known in decision theory as a 'lexicographic ordering.' The concept is explained, and some of the associated assumptions, implications and shortcomings are examined. (Author/MLW)

Almost all applicants who have been admitted to medical school have obtained the M.D. degree. Given this success rate, an accepted applicant's economic security is guaranteed. Schools pay lip-service to the importance of students' character, motivation, etc., and continue to select students with high grades and MCAT scores. (Author/MLW)

Issues in selective admissions in Australia and especially in Victoria are reviewed. Administrative and policy issues are analyzed and some of the consequences of an imbalance between supply and demand are addressed. (MLW)

The efforts and problems of Occidental College, a small, selective liberal arts college in Los Angeles, to bridge the gap between the college and the multicultural city by substantially increasing minority enrollment and faculty are discussed. Lack of faculty and administrative support and the declining applicant pool are among the barriers to…

A United Negro College Fund study found that affirmative action policy does not deny Whites access to higher education, but does increase minority access to more selective colleges. It also revealed that, of 1,808 4-year colleges, only 342 are likely to use affirmative action; of these, 120 account for the greatest gain in African American and…