Academic achievement in American cities: Comparsion of public compregensive, public magnet, Catholic, and non-religious private high schools

Problems with our public urban high schools are intensifying, and many see magnet schools and private schools as the answer. But are those schools really better at increasing the academic skills of students? Using the National Educational Longitudinal Survey, the author estimates the effect of attending a magnet school, Catholic School, or secular private school on the achievement of urban students in math, reading, science, and social studies; he compares these estimates to the achievement of students who attend comprehensive public high schools. He finds that magnet schools are more effective than regular schools at raising the proficiency of students in science, reading, and social studies; Catholic schools have a positive impact on math skills, while secular private schools do not offer any advantage, net of preexisting differences among students. Further analyses test the sensitivity of the results to assumptions about independence and selectivity; these show support for the magnet school advantages in reading and social studies, but raise doubts about the Catholic school effects in math and the magnet school effects in science.