Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-17-2015
Abstract
Which Hartford and suburban families were more (or less) likely to apply to the Regional School Choice Office for public school choice options such as interdistrict magnet schools, and how do these families vary by student characteristics & achievement, school composition, and neighborhood/town demographics? Report 2 offers a statistical analysis of 17,710 applicants to the Spring 2013 RSCO lottery, matched to a broader pool of over 170,000 potential applicants from the RSCO transportation region in the Public School Information System (PSIS) database.
Overall, this report expands on our prior finding that in Report 1 that participation in the RSCO application process was not random, but linked to certain characteristics. Among Hartford-resident K-11 students, English Language Learners were much less likely to apply (26 percent fewer students than expected), those with special education needs were somewhat less likely to apply (16 percent fewer than expected), and those living in higher-income or higher-homeownership areas were more likely to apply (24 and 28 percent more students than expected, respectively). Regarding test score differences, Hartford applicants had slightly higher reading scores than non-applicants, but this disparity was small and was not found in any other subject areas. Along racial lines, we found that Hartford Black students were more likely to apply (11 percent more than expected), while Hispanic students were less likely (8 percent fewer than expected), with no difference for White students.
Among suburban K-11 students, those from lower-income families were more likely to apply (43 percent more than expected). Black suburban students were much more likely to apply (169 percent more than expected), and Hispanic suburban students were more likely to apply (48 percent more than expected), while White suburban students were less likely to apply (47 percent fewer than expected). Students in suburbs with more than 60 percent minority enrollment were far more likely to apply (132 percent more students than expected). Regarding achievement tests, higher-scoring suburban students were less likely to apply (12 percent fewer students than expected).
Recommended Citation
Jack Dougherty, Diane Zannoni, et al., “Who Chooses in the Hartford Region? Report 2: A Statistical Analysis of Regional School Choice Office Applicants and Non-Applicants among Hartford and Suburban-Resident Students in the Spring 2013 Lottery” (Hartford, CT: Cities Suburbs Schools Project at Trinity College, October 17, 2015), http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cssp_papers/.
