Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 20, 2026
10:39
Qualitative and Quantitative Validation of Tools with Rating Scales Aimed at Assessing the Quality of University Service-Learning
Published on: August 29, 2025
1.3K
School Choice, School Quality and Postsecondary Attainment.
David J Deming1, Justine S Hastings2, Thomas J Kane3
1Harvard Graduate School of Education, Gutman 411, Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02139 ( david_deming@gse.harvard.edu ).
The American Economic Review
|June 1, 2016
Summary
Public school choice lotteries significantly boost college attainment for winners. These gains are linked to improved school quality and are concentrated among girls, who respond with better grades and course selection.
Area of Science:
- Education Policy
- Sociology of Education
- Economics of Education
Background:
- School choice programs aim to improve educational outcomes by allowing students to select schools.
- Understanding the causal impact of school choice on long-term outcomes like college attainment is crucial for policy evaluation.
- Previous research has yielded mixed results on the effectiveness of school choice programs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of a public school choice lottery on college enrollment and degree completion.
- To identify the mechanisms through which school choice affects college attainment.
- To examine differential impacts of school choice by gender.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a public school choice lottery in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.
- Employed rich administrative data including peer, teacher, and course information.
- Employed regression analysis to estimate treatment effects and identify mediating factors.
Main Results:
- Lottery winners who attended their first choice school showed a significant increase in college attainment.
- The positive impacts of school choice were strongly correlated with improvements in school quality metrics.
- Gains in college attainment were concentrated among female students.
- Female students responded to attending higher-quality schools with improved grades and increased college-preparatory course-taking, unlike male students.
Conclusions:
- Public school choice can be an effective policy for increasing college attainment, particularly when it leads to attending higher-quality schools.
- School quality, especially for female students, plays a critical role in translating school choice into improved educational outcomes.
- Gender differences in response to school choice highlight the need for tailored educational interventions and policies.
More Related Videos
09:55Bridging the Technology Divide in the COVID-19 Era: Using Virtual Outreach to Expose Middle and High School Students to Imaging Technology
Published on: September 28, 2022
2.3K
13:44Project-Based Learning Guidelines for Health Sciences Students: An Analysis with Data Mining and Qualitative Techniques
Published on: December 9, 2022
4.6K
Related Concept Videos
01:27Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison
348
Social comparison plays a fundamental role in the evaluation of personal success and self-worth. Rather than assessing our achievements in isolation, we interpret their significance relative to personal goals and critically in comparison to the performance of others. A grade of B in a mathematics exam might elicit pride if one's expectation was a C, yet result in disappointment if an A was anticipated or if peers achieved superior results. These comparative evaluations illustrate how both...
348
01:29Reliability and Validity
14.3K
Reliability and validity are two important considerations that must be made with any type of data collection. Reliability refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result. In the context of psychological research, this would mean that any instruments or tools used to collect data do so in consistent, reproducible ways.
14.3K
01:50Cross-Sectional Research
12.9K
In cross-sectional research, a researcher compares multiple segments of the population at the same time. If they were interested in people's dietary habits, the researcher might directly compare different groups of people by age. Instead of following a group of people for 20 years to see how their dietary habits changed from decade to decade, the researcher would study a group of 20-year-old individuals and compare them to a group of 30-year-old individuals and a group of 40-year-old...
12.9K
02:16Surveys
17.2K
Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally. Generally, the survey itself can be completed in a short time, and the ease of administering a survey makes it easy to collect data from a large number of people.
17.2K
01:29Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory
857
Attribution theory plays a crucial role in social psychology, helping to explain how individuals interpret the causes of behavior. One prominent model within this field is Harold Kelley's covariation theory, which provides a systematic approach to determining whether internal traits or external circumstances drive a person's actions. The model posits that individuals rely on three key types of information—consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness—to make these judgments.Consensus:...
857
01:16Stratified Sampling Method
16.0K
Sampling is a technique to select a portion (or subset) of the larger population and study that portion (the sample) to gain information about the population. The sampling method ensures that samples are drawn without bias and accurately represent the population. Because measuring the entire population in a study is not practical, researchers use samples to represent the population of interest.
To choose a stratified sample, divide the population into groups called strata and then take a...
To choose a stratified sample, divide the population into groups called strata and then take a...
16.0K