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ERIC Number: ED636559
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Dec-7
Pages: 51
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Setting Priorities in School Choice Enrollment Systems: Who Benefits from Placement Algorithm Preferences? Technical Report
Jon Valant; Brigham Walker
National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice
Many cities with school choice programs employ algorithms to make school placements. These algorithms use student priorities to determine which applicants get seats in oversubscribed schools. This study explores whether the New Orleans placement algorithm tends to favor students of certain races or socioeconomic classes. Specifically, we examine cases where families of Black and White or poor and non-poor children request the same elementary school as their top choice. We find that when Black and White applicants submit the same first-choice request for kindergarten, Black applicants are 9 percentage points less likely to receive it. Meanwhile, students in poverty are 6 percentage points less likely to receive a first-choice placement than other applicants for the same kindergarten program. However, these biases are not inevitable. In non-entry grades, where placement policies favor students whose schools are closing, Black and low-income applicants are more likely to obtain first-choice placements than their peers. We examine these priorities and simulate placements under alternate specifications of a deferred-acceptance algorithm to assess the potential of algorithm reform as a policymaking tool.
National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice. 1555 Poydras Street Suite 700, New Orleans, LA 70112. Tel: 870-540-6576; e-mail: info@reachcentered.org; Web site: https://reachcentered.org/
Related Records: ED636555
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH); Education Research Alliance for New Orleans (ERA)
Identifiers - Location: Louisiana (New Orleans)
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305C180025