The National Center on School Choice is funded by the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. The Center exercises national leadership in school choice research, including charter and magnet schools, private school vouchers, teacher recruitment, school management, and state policymaking.

In-Depth Analysis of the Effects of Choice on
Student Achievement

Caroline Hoxby, Harvard University

Some charter schools are oversubscribed - they have more applicants than openings.  Often, such schools use lotteries to determine who will be able to attend them.  Comparing the students who won the lottery and attended the charter school with those who lost the lottery and remained in traditional public schools (or chose other school options) allows researchers to employ an experimental research design in the evaluation of charter schools.  This project is examining areas that use lotteries, such as the Chicago Charter School Foundation’s network of schools and charter schools in New York City.  We are addressing the following research questions:

1. How does charter school choice affect student achievement?
2. How does the attrition of some students affect the composition of the remaining student body?
3. Do charter school effects change with maturity of the schools?
4. Do charter schools affect long-term outcomes like graduation rates and college enrollment?