ABSTRACT

I show that parents select schools by considering attributes of the student-school match that improve the learning outcomes beyond average school quality. Using the centralized algorithm for offers to primary school in London, I compare the achievement of students who are as good as randomly enroled in schools ranked differently in their application. Enroling at the most-preferred school versus an institution ranked lower increases achievement by 0.10 SD beyond school value-added among students with similar characteristics. Only a small part of the match effects of parental choice can be explained by student’s characteristics such as gender, ability, or socioeconomic status.

JEL codes: H75, I21, I24, I28.
Keywords: Centralised assignment, Deferred acceptance, School choice, School effectiveness.
ISSN 2704-7407
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