Gurushala

Magnet Schools and Student Achievement

We estimate the impact of attending a magnet school on student achievement for a mid-sized southern district, using admissions lotteries to sort students into “treatment” and
“control” groups. We find a positive magnet school effect on mathematics achievement
Until we add controls for student demographics and prior achievement. This suggests that
Despite random assignment in the lotteries, treatment and control groups differ with
Respect to student characteristics that have an independent impact on achievement. The
Most likely explanation is differential patterns of attrition among lottery winners and
Losers.

Magnet Schools and Student Achievement

Education and Society

Magnet Schools and Student Achievement

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