The Impact of Centralized Admission School Lotteries on School Segregation

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 11:45 am - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Segregation and Peer Diversity: New Evidence on their Sources and Impacts

Abstract

In this study, we build on emerging literature examining the effectiveness of centralized lottery and enrollment systems in promoting public goods and reducing segregation. Leveraging the staggered rollout of these student assignment mechanisms, our analysis provides the first nationwide causal evidence on the relationship between centralized lotteries and racial and ethnic segregation across the 300 largest U.S. school districts. This study tests the theory that centralized admission lotteries can mitigate between-school segregation by offering students who use these systems more equitable access to preferred schools.

Authors

• Jason Saltmarsh, Old Dominion University

• Francisco Lagos, Inter-American Development Bank

• Jing Liu, University of Maryland