This research brief outlines six major studies of magnet school student outcomes. Magnet schools are programs with special themes or emphases designed to attract families from a variety of different backgrounds. They were originally established to promote voluntary racial integration in urban districts. The studies are located within a much broader body of research that documents the benefits of attending racially and socioeconomically diverse schools. Some of what is known from the literature on the benefits of racial diversity indicates that students of all races who attend diverse schools have higher levels of critical thinking, an ability to adopt multiple perspectives; diminished likelihood for acceptance of stereotypes, higher academic achievement, more cross-racial friendships, willingness to attend diverse colleges and live in diverse neighborhoods, access to more privileged social networks, higher feelings of civic and communal responsibility, higher college-going rates, more prestigious jobs. The research discussed in this brief is relatively recent, but older studies suggest that magnet schools are associated with increased student achievement, higher levels of student motivation and satisfaction with school, higher levels of teacher motivation and morale, and higher levels of parent satisfaction with the school.