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The Effect of School Choice on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Randomized Lotteries

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Author Info
Julie Berry Cullen
Brian A. Jacob
Steven Levitt

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Abstract

School choice has become an increasingly prominent strategy for urban school districts seeking to enhance academic achievement. Evaluating the impact of such programs is complicated by the fact that a highly select sample of students takes advantage of these programs. To overcome this difficulty, we exploit randomized lotteries that determine high school admission in the Chicago Public Schools. Surprisingly, we find little evidence that attending sought after programs provides any benefit on a wide variety of traditional academic measures, including standardized test scores, attendance rates, course-taking, and credit accumulation. This is true despite the fact that those students who win the lotteries attend better high schools along a number of dimensions, including higher peer achievement levels, higher peer graduation rates, and lower levels of poverty. We do, however, uncover evidence that attendance at such schools may improve a subset of non-traditional outcome measures, such as self-reported disciplinary incidences and arrest rates.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 10113.

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Date of creation: Nov 2003
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10113

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Eric A. Hanushek & John F. Kain & Jacob M. Markman & Steven G. Rivkin, 2001. "Does Peer Ability Affect Student Achievement?," NBER Working Papers 8502, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Neal, Derek, 1997. "The Effects of Catholic Secondary Schooling on Educational Achievement," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 98-123, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Cecilia Elena Rouse, 1998. "Private School Vouchers And Student Achievement: An Evaluation Of The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(2), pages 553-602, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Evans, William N & Schwab, Robert M, 1995. "Finishing High School and Starting College: Do Catholic Schools Make a Difference?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 110(4), pages 941-74, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Lawrence F. Katz & Jeffrey R. Kling & Jeffrey B. Liebman, 2001. "Moving To Opportunity In Boston: Early Results Of A Randomized Mobility Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 116(2), pages 607-654, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. H. Naci Mocan & Erdal Tekin, 2002. "Catholic Schools and Bad Behavior: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis," NBER Working Papers 9172, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Mocan, H. Naci & Scafidi, Benjamin & Tekin, Erdal, 2002. "Catholic Schools and Bad Behavior," IZA Discussion Papers 599, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  8. Alan B. Krueger & Pei Zhu, 2003. "Another Look at the New York City School Voucher Experiment," NBER Working Papers 9418, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Lefgren, Lars, 2004. "Educational peer effects and the Chicago public schools," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 169-191, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Julie Berry Cullen & Brian Jacob & Steven Levitt, 2000. "The Impact of School Choice on Student Outcomes: An Analysis of the Chicago Public Schools," NBER Working Papers 7888, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. David Figlio & Jens Ludwig, 2000. "Sex, Drugs, and Catholic Schools: Private Schooling and Non-Market Adolescent Behaviors," NBER Working Papers 7990, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Caroline M. Hoxby, 2000. "Does Competition among Public Schools Benefit Students and Taxpayers?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1209-1238, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Joshua Angrist & Eric Bettinger & Erik Bloom & Elizabeth King & Michael Kremer, 2001. "Vouchers for Private Schooling in Colombia: Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment," NBER Working Papers 8343, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Hanushek, E.A.omson, W., 1996. "Assessing the Effects of School Resources on Student Performance : An Update," RCER Working Papers 424, University of Rochester - Center for Economic Research (RCER).
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Atila Abdulkadiroglu & Parag A. Pathak & Alvin E. Roth & Tayfun Sönmez, 2006. "Changing the Boston School Choice Mechanism," Levine's Bibliography 122247000000001022, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Ammermüller, Andreas & Pischke, Jörn-Steffen, 2006. "Peer Effects in European Primary Schools: Evidence from PIRLS," ZEW Discussion Papers 06-27, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Stephen Gibbons & Olmo Silva, 2007. "Urban Density and Pupil Attainment," IZA Discussion Papers 2728, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Victor Lavy, 2006. "From Forced Busing to Free Choice in Public Schools: Quasi-Experimental Evidence of Individual and General Effects," NBER Working Papers 11969, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Stephen Gibbons & Stephen Machin & Olmo Silva, 2006. "Choice, Competition and Pupil Achievement," IZA Discussion Papers 2214, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Anders Böhlmark & Mikael Lindahl, 2007. "The Impact of School Choice on Pupil Achievement, Segregation and Costs: Swedish Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 2786, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  7. Todd R. Stinebrickner & Ralph Stinebrickner, 2007. "The Causal Effect of Studying on Academic Performance," NBER Working Papers 13341, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. Brian Jacob & Jens Ludwig, 2008. "Improving Educational Outcomes for Poor Children," NBER Working Papers 14550, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Hastings, Justine S. & Kane, Thomas J. & Staiger, Douglas O. & Weinstein, Jeffrey M., 2006. "The Political Economy of School Choice: Randomized School Admissions and Voter Participation," Working Papers 11, Yale University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  10. Justine S. Hastings & Thomas J. Kane & Douglas O. Staiger, 2006. "Gender and Performance: Evidence from School Assignment by Randomized Lottery," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 232-236, May. [Downloadable!]
  11. Clive R. Belfield, 2005. "Education vouchers and the Cleveland Scholarship Program," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, pages 9-14. [Downloadable!]
  12. Patrick Bayer & Fernando Ferreira & Robert McMillan, 2004. "Tiebout Sorting, Social Multipliers and the Demand for School Quality," NBER Working Papers 10871, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Lisa Sanbonmatsu & Jeffrey R. Kling & Greg J. Duncan & Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, 2006. "Neighborhoods and Academic Achievement: Results from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment," NBER Working Papers 11909, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Marc van der Steeg, 2005. "Why should governments intervene in education, and how effective is education policy," CPB Memoranda 122, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. [Downloadable!]
  15. Randall Reback, 2004. "Demand (and Supply) in an Inter-District Public School Choice Program," Working Papers 0501, Barnard College, Department of Economics, revised Feb 2006. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  16. Patrick Bayer & Robert McMillan, 2005. "Choice and Competition in Local Education Markets," NBER Working Papers 11802, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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