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School Choice and Segregation: Evidence from the Oakland Unified School District

Author

Listed:
  • Jesse Rothstein

    (University of California, Berkeley)

  • Ini Umosen

    (Ithaka S+R)

  • Christopher R. Walters

    (University of Chicago)

Abstract

We study the prospects for changes in school priorities to reduce income segregation in a context of centralized school assignment, accounting for behavioral responses to school offers. Promoting integration is a central objective for large urban school districts in the US, and reforms to school assignment priorities are a prominent means of pursuing this goal. Such efforts may be constrained by students' decisions to exit the public school system in response to less-preferred school offers. Using data on kindergarten applicants to the Oakland Unified SchoolDistrict (OUSD), we show that offers of spots at first-choice schools boost the likelihood that applicants remain in OUSD. Nevertheless, simulations show that policy reforms giving priority for low-income students at high-income schools can substantially reduce segregation with minimal impacts on retention in the district.

Suggested Citation

  • Jesse Rothstein & Ini Umosen & Christopher R. Walters, 2026. "School Choice and Segregation: Evidence from the Oakland Unified School District," Working Papers 2026-38, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bfi:wpaper:2026-38
    as

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    File URL: https://repec.bfi.uchicago.edu/RePEc/pdfs/BFI_WP_2026-38.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rivkin, Steven & Welch, Finis, 2006. "Has School Desegregation Improved Academic and Economic Outcomes for Blacks?," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 17, pages 1019-1049, Elsevier.
    2. Patrick Bayer & Fernando Ferreira & Robert McMillan, 2007. "A Unified Framework for Measuring Preferences for Schools and Neighborhoods," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 115(4), pages 588-638, August.
    3. Sarah J. Reber, 2005. "Court Ordered Desegregation: Successes and Failures Integrating American Schools since Brown versus Board of Education," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(3).
    4. Robert Bifulco & Helen F. Ladd, 2007. "School choice, racial segregation, and test-score gaps: Evidence from North Carolina's charter school program*," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(1), pages 31-56.
    5. repec:oup:qjecon:v:129:y:2013:i:1:p:435-476 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Mariana Laverde, 2022. "Distance to Schools and Equal Access in School Choice Systems," Working Papers 2022-002, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    7. Joshua D. Angrist, 1998. "Estimating the Labor Market Impact of Voluntary Military Service Using Social Security Data on Military Applicants," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 66(2), pages 249-288, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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