Equitable Access to High-Quality Schools? Describing Who Chooses and Where They Attend in Detroit

• In Event: Navigating and Negotiating Choice in Competitive Educational Marketplaces

Abstract

This paper examines relationships between student characteristics, school attributes, and school attended for students in Detroit, where students can attend assigned schools, other district schools, charters, and outside schools. I test whether or not all families participate in choice and if they have access to quality schools. Results show that while students are more likely to attend higher quality schools within their choice set, black and economically disadvantaged students are less likely to attend outside and other district schools, the highest quality schools accessible to Detroit students. Findings contribute to the choice literature by providing some of the first evidence describing relationships between assigned school and choice in addition to examining choices for students leaving their district to attend school.

Author

• Danielle Michelle Sanderson Edwards, Michigan State University