Identifying Competitive Links Between High Schools Using Centralized Student Application Data

• In Event: School Choice Research: Understanding Persistent Problems Through New Lenses

Abstract

A large body of research has attempted to capture the effect of competition on student outcomes, but the evidence generated from these studies is mixed. There is no standard definition of competition in the K-12 educational marketplace, and researchers have operationalized it in a variety of ways. These measures often make assumptions about market boundaries, who competes with whom, and how much competition each school faces. Using student application data and network analysis techniques, this study tests novel measures of competition that provide a more nuanced understanding of how competition functions in an educational marketplace. I find competition is highly segmented into submarkets and that schools serving high achieving students drive much of the competition across the study district.

Author

• Dillon G. McGill, Vanderbilt University