With the Wind at Their Backs: How Socioeconomic Advantage Shapes Competitive High School Admissions Outcomes

• In Event: 44.077 - How Competition and Power Shape Educational Opportunities

Abstract

As urban school districts have introduced academically competitive admissions public schools under school choice policy, students increasingly find themselves competing for spots at their preferred high schools. This phenomenon occurs in a context of intensified income inequality in major urban centers. This longitudinal, comparative case study of Chicago Public Schools students’ competitive admissions outcomes extends research on student experience of school choice. It investigates the extents to which admissions outcomes varied by student SES, family resources, school resources, or educational habitus. It also explores when during the admissions process SES-driven variation occurred. SES was associated with admissions outcome differences, family resources overpowered schools’ influence on admissions outcomes, and educational habitus exerted clear influence throughout the admissions process.

Author

• Kate L. Phillippo, Loyola University Chicago