RESEARCH: SCHOOL CHOICE IMPROVES A STUDENT'S WHOLE LIFE

http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/20/new-research-school-choice-has-positive-impact-on-college-achievement-gap/

New research: School choice has positive impact on college achievement gap

Daily Caller -- 09/20/2011 |   -- By Alexis Levinson

As U.S. politicians continue to debate the merits of allowing parents to choose their children’s schools, research financed by the Department of Education has found that school choice programs significantly improve the future educational prospects of children who might otherwise attend lower quality schools.

“CMS implemented an open enrollment public school choice program in the Fall of 2002,” says the paper. “Students were guaranteed admission to their neighborhood school but were allowed to choose and rank up to three other schools in the district, including magnet schools. When demand for school slots exceeded supply, allocation was determined by lottery.”

Of the eight public schools in that district, the researchers ranked four as “low quality” and four as “high quality.” Students who lived in a neighborhood where the nearest school was low quality, but who won a lottery to attend a high quality school, were “more likely than lottery losers to graduate from high school, attend a four-year college, and earn a bachelor’s degree.

“They are twice as likely to earn a degree from an elite university. The results suggest that school choice can improve students’ longer-term life chances when they gain access to schools that are better on observed dimensions of quality.” (RELATED: Rubio: ‘No Child Left Behind’ waivers are illegal)

… Attending a better high school increases long-run educational attainment primarily through improved preparation for college-level coursework.”

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