The Admissions Process at a Selective Urban High School

• In Event: 153 - Regular Session. School Choice and Market Models of Schooling

Abstract

Using ethnographic methods, this study examines the selective admission process at one urban high school. Selective admission public high schools, often called “magnet schools” are found in most large urban school districts. In these cities, eighth grade students have the option to apply to high schools other than their assigned neighborhood school. Selective schools evaluate students for admission, often only admitting a small percentage of applicants. Despite their prevalence in cities, research on selective high schools has been limited in the United States. They have been treated simply as schools that are attended by high ability students. However, selective schools are part of a system of stratified educational opportunities within urban public school systems. The study of selective admissions policies and practices helps to explain how urban schools create or interrupt opportunities for social mobility through education. I argue that selective high schools are not simple meritocracies. First, I discuss the various ways that merit is defined and assessed in the focal school. Second, I show that admissions processes that are influenced by a number of student and school-level factors.

Author

• Shani Adia Evans, University of Pennsylvania