The Fallacy of School Choice: School Type and Gender Sorting in New York City High Schools

• In Event: 35.081 - Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: 35.081-20 - School Choice: Distributional Issues

Abstract

New York City high school students have a huge variety of schools to choose from, including Career and Technical Schools, STEM schools, and small, theme-based schools. Examination of school demographics reveals that school choice, when combined with a system made up of many narrowly-focused, career-oriented schools, leads to gender sorting. Many schools have a gender imbalance of 20, 40, or even 60 percentage points. School choice is clearly constrained by powerful social assumptions about the appropriate areas for males and females to study. This study examines the relationship between school type and gender composition and looks at potential problems caused by gender segregation.

Author

• Elizabeth Craig, Bard College