Magnet schools have been a main tool or innovation in urban education settings in the United States, originating in the early 1970's and expanding into most large urban districts today (Blank, 1989). While some magnet schools do not rely on a specific criterion to determine entry, many do. This study focuses on such a setting where students must…

School choice is a current education reform effort that advances the idea that parents should be able to choose the best-fit school for their child rather than have a state or local school district assign a school based on residential address. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of academic and nonacademic characteristics of…