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The Attraction of Magnet Schools: Evidence from Embedded Lotteries in School Assignment. Program on Education Policy and Governance Conference Papers Series. PEPG 25-15

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Title: The Attraction of Magnet Schools: Evidence from Embedded Lotteries in School Assignment. Program on Education Policy and Governance Conference Papers Series. PEPG 25-15
Language: English
Authors: Umut Dur, Robert G. Hammond, Matthew A. Lenard, Melinda Morrill, Thayer Morrill, Colleen Paeplow, Harvard University, Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG)
Source: Program on Education Policy and Governance. 2025.
Availability: Program on Education Policy and Governance. Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Taubman 304, Cambridge, MA 02138. Tel: 617-495-7976; Fax: 617-496-4428; e-mail: pepg@fas.harvard.edu; Web site: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/taubman/programs-research/pepg
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 59
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Descriptors: Magnet Schools, Program Effectiveness, Selective Admission, Learner Engagement, Attendance, Academic Achievement, Academic Persistence, Student Mobility, School Choice, Racial Composition, Socioeconomic Status, Institutional Characteristics, Student Characteristics, Teacher Characteristics, Elementary School Students
Geographic Terms: North Carolina
Abstract: Magnet schools provide innovative curricula designed to attract students from other schools within a school district, typically with the joint goals of diversifying enrollment and boosting achievement. Measuring the impact of attending a magnet school is challenging because students choose to apply and schools have priorities over types of students. Moreover, magnet schools may influence non-cognitive skill formation that is not well-reflected in test scores. This study estimates the causal impact of attending a magnet school on student outcomes by leveraging exogenous variation arising from tie breakers embedded in a centralized school assignment mechanism. Using a rich set of administrative data from a large school district, we find robust evidence that attending a magnet school significantly increases student engagement, as measured through absenteeism and on-time progress rates. Students are significantly less likely to change schools when attending a magnet. We find suggestive evidence that attending a magnet school led to higher performance in mathematics and that attending non-language immersion magnet schools increased students' reading scores. Together, these results suggest that magnet schools--a typically understudied school choice option--can benefit student learning and increase student engagement while enabling the system to achieve its goals of promoting racial and socioeconomic balance through school choice.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: ED673405
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
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  Data: The Attraction of Magnet Schools: Evidence from Embedded Lotteries in School Assignment. Program on Education Policy and Governance Conference Papers Series. PEPG 25-15
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  Data: Program on Education Policy and Governance. Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Taubman 304, Cambridge, MA 02138. Tel: 617-495-7976; Fax: 617-496-4428; e-mail: pepg@fas.harvard.edu; Web site: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/taubman/programs-research/pepg
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22North+Carolina%22">North Carolina</searchLink>
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  Data: Magnet schools provide innovative curricula designed to attract students from other schools within a school district, typically with the joint goals of diversifying enrollment and boosting achievement. Measuring the impact of attending a magnet school is challenging because students choose to apply and schools have priorities over types of students. Moreover, magnet schools may influence non-cognitive skill formation that is not well-reflected in test scores. This study estimates the causal impact of attending a magnet school on student outcomes by leveraging exogenous variation arising from tie breakers embedded in a centralized school assignment mechanism. Using a rich set of administrative data from a large school district, we find robust evidence that attending a magnet school significantly increases student engagement, as measured through absenteeism and on-time progress rates. Students are significantly less likely to change schools when attending a magnet. We find suggestive evidence that attending a magnet school led to higher performance in mathematics and that attending non-language immersion magnet schools increased students' reading scores. Together, these results suggest that magnet schools--a typically understudied school choice option--can benefit student learning and increase student engagement while enabling the system to achieve its goals of promoting racial and socioeconomic balance through school choice.
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  Data: ED673405
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 59
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Magnet Schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Program Effectiveness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Selective Admission
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Learner Engagement
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      – SubjectFull: Attendance
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      – SubjectFull: Academic Achievement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Academic Persistence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Mobility
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      – SubjectFull: School Choice
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      – SubjectFull: Racial Composition
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      – SubjectFull: Socioeconomic Status
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      – SubjectFull: Institutional Characteristics
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      – SubjectFull: Elementary School Students
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      – SubjectFull: North Carolina
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Attraction of Magnet Schools: Evidence from Embedded Lotteries in School Assignment. Program on Education Policy and Governance Conference Papers Series. PEPG 25-15
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