Expanding Access to High-Quality Schools with School Choice Algorithms

Few clear-cut fixes exist in education. However, when it comes to choosing and enrolling in public schools, a specific centralized process exists that is both simple for families to navigate and efficient for schools and districts. While the expansion of public school choice has allowed parents or guardians to select schools that best meet their children’s needs, some application and enrollment processes can present barriers to families with less time or familiarity with the system. A centralized system can simplify enrollment for both families and schools, but depending on how a district assigns an offer for each student, some families can unfairly manipulate the system to make it more likely that their child secures a seat at a more in-demand, usually better-performing school. CAP released a new report and a short video providing an overview of fair, efficient, and transparency school matching algorithms. A handful of cities have already implemented these algorithms, including New Orleans, Indianapolis, Denver, and Camden. Put simply, these algorithms can improve the efficiency of enrollment systems, while also ensuring that every student has a fair shot at the school he or she wants to attend—something that can, in the long run, improve academic outcomes.