Free to choose: Can school choice reduce student achievement
Publication
, Journal Article
Abdulkadiroğlu, A; Pathak, PA; Walters, CR
Published in: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
January 1, 2018
A central argument for school choice is that parents can choose schools wisely. This principle may underlie why lottery-based school evaluations have almost always reported positive or zero achievement effects. This paper reports on a striking counterexample to these results. We use randomized lotteries to evaluate the Louisiana Scholarship Program, a voucher plan that provides public funds for disadvantaged students to attend private schools. LSP participation lowers math scores by 0.4 standard deviations and also reduces achievement in reading, science, and social studies. These effects may be due in part to selection of low-quality private schools into the program.
Duke Scholars
Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats
Published In
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
DOI
EISSN
1945-7790
ISSN
1945-7782
Publication Date
January 1, 2018
Volume
10
Issue
1
Start / End Page
175 / 206
Related Subject Headings
- 3801 Applied economics
- 1402 Applied Economics
Citation
APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Abdulkadiroğlu, A., Pathak, P. A., & Walters, C. R. (2018). Free to choose: Can school choice reduce student achievement. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 10(1), 175–206. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20160634
Abdulkadiroğlu, A., P. A. Pathak, and C. R. Walters. “Free to choose: Can school choice reduce student achievement.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 10, no. 1 (January 1, 2018): 175–206. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20160634.
Abdulkadiroğlu A, Pathak PA, Walters CR. Free to choose: Can school choice reduce student achievement. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 2018 Jan 1;10(1):175–206.
Abdulkadiroğlu, A., et al. “Free to choose: Can school choice reduce student achievement.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol. 10, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 175–206. Scopus, doi:10.1257/app.20160634.
Abdulkadiroğlu A, Pathak PA, Walters CR. Free to choose: Can school choice reduce student achievement. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 2018 Jan 1;10(1):175–206.
Published In
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
DOI
EISSN
1945-7790
ISSN
1945-7782
Publication Date
January 1, 2018
Volume
10
Issue
1
Start / End Page
175 / 206
Related Subject Headings
- 3801 Applied economics
- 1402 Applied Economics