An Agent-Based Model of Intra-District Public School Choice
نویسندگان
چکیده
This paper addresses the difficulties in evaluating the impact of choice-based reforms in education by developing an agent-based model that captures the dynamic processes related to moving from a neighborhood-based to choice-based system. Using data from Chicago Public Schools to estimate and set initial conditions of the model, we illustrate how differences in participation rates and capacity constraints can result in uneven treatment effects across school choice programs, and suggest an approach of indexing results across contexts. Simulations also reveal how a high emphasis on school achievement by individuals choosing schools can paradoxically constrain district-level achievement by limiting the number of new schools that survive in a district.
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