Stand and Deliver: Effects of Boston's Charter High Schools on College Preparation, Entry, and Choice

Joshua Angrist, Sarah Cohodes, Susan Dynarski, Parag Pathak and Christopher Walters

No 19275, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We use admissions lotteries to estimate the effects of attendance at Boston's charter high schools on college preparation, college attendance, and college choice. Charter attendance increases pass rates on the high-stakes exam required for high school graduation in Massachusetts, with especially large effects on the likelihood of qualifying for a state-sponsored college scholarship. Charter attendance has little effect on the likelihood of taking the SAT, but shifts the distribution of scores rightward, moving students into higher quartiles of the state SAT score distribution. Boston's charter high schools also increase the likelihood of taking an Advanced Placement (AP) exam, the number of AP exams taken, and scores on AP Calculus tests. Finally, charter attendance induces a substantial shift from two- to four-year institutions, though the effect on overall college enrollment is modest. The increase in four-year enrollment is concentrated among four-year public institutions in Massachusetts. The large gains generated by Boston's charter high schools are unlikely to be generated by changes in peer composition or other peer effects.

JEL-codes: I21 I23 I24 I28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-ure
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Published as Joshua D. Angrist & Sarah R. Cohodes & Susan M. Dynarski & Parag A. Pathak & Christopher R. Walters, 2016. "Stand and Deliver: Effects of Boston's Charter High Schools on College Preparation, Entry, and Choice," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(2), pages 000 - 000.

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Journal Article: Stand and Deliver: Effects of Boston's Charter High Schools on College Preparation, Entry, and Choice (2016)
Working Paper: Stand and Deliver: Effects of Boston's Charter High School on College Preparation, Entry, and Choice (2013)
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