There is currently no designated policy, procedure or staff in place to facilitate the objective of increasing student yield. As a result, magnet applications and acceptance of invitations to attend Owl Middle School is approached without a strategy which makes planning difficult and negates the ability to determine effective methods. Filling…

Magnet schools provide innovative curricula designed to attract students from other schools within a school district, typically with the joint goals of diversifying enrollment and boosting achievement. Measuring the impact of attending a magnet school is challenging because students choose to apply and schools have priorities over types of…

This article reviews the literature evaluating the impact of school choice programs on racial integration. Evidence on the impacts of magnet schools, voluntary busing programs, open enrollment practices, charter schools, and voucher programs is reviewed. The literature is mixed on this question, finding that the impacts of choice on racial…

Giving parents and students the ability to choose their school is promoted by supporters as the key to improving American education overall. On the surface, the idea has great appeal. Who, after all, opposes having choices? Indeed, both Democratic and Republican policymakers, including President Trump, have embraced school choice as a reform…

Magnet schools were originally created to attract a diverse student population. Using data from the 23 magnet schools in St. Louis, this longitudinal study is twofold: first, to review the performance outcomes of the magnet schools across a 5-year period, between 2005-2006 and 2009-2010, and second, to examine whether the magnet schools are…

This study of 952 fifth and sixth graders in Washington, DC, and Alexandria, Virginia, found that students who were offered the "Higher Achievement" program had higher test scores in mathematical problem solving and were more likely to be admitted to and attend private competitive high schools. "Higher Achievement" is a…

The question of whether and how to offer students the option of attending a school other than the one assigned by their residence is a hotly debated issue with substantial implications for policymaking. Whether pursued as an effort to increase the availability of high-quality options in communities without equal access; to drive improvement…

Nationwide, magnet programs enroll more than twice the number of students served by charter schools, making them the most popular form of school choice. Across the U.S., over 1.5 million U.S. children attend magnet schools. In Miami-Dade County Public Schools, over 42,000 students are enrolled in magnet programs. The bulk of this report focuses on…

When the Connecticut State Department of Education published its first district report cards in 2003, it was obvious that the Hartford Public Schools district was struggling. Fewer than half of its students were proficient on the state reading exam. Math performance was better, but 63 percent of 10th-graders and 43 percent of younger students…

The results and prospects of the magnet school component of desegregation efforts in St. Louis are presented. Demand for magnet seats is outstripping the supply, and thus, the pace of desegregation is limited. But these schools offer an improved educational program and provide more educational choices for families. (VM)

This paper describes magnet schools as thematic islands of choice within a traditional district-assignment plan. These "islands of choice" are currently the most popular destination with those who exercise some choice in where they send their children to school. During the 1991-92 school year, 3,200 magnet schools were in operation, hosting some…

Discusses the record of magnet schools in increasing and equalizing student opportunity, building educational quality, and improving student learning. (SR)

Locates school choice's theoretical underpinnings in market theory and communitarianism. Explains contributions of magnet schools, charter schools, and voucher systems to the choice movement. Summarizes preliminary findings for voucher plans, highlighting minority participation, family and teacher satisfaction, student mobility, and college…

The effectiveness of the magnet school program of the Duval County Public Schools, Florida, was studied. The magnet schools were established at approximately half of the district's 150 schools as part of a desegregation plan. The schools offered a variety of theme programs. In spring 1998, the program was evaluated by four subcommittees of a…

Compares the public-choice model for school desegregation, which involves parents choosing magnet schools, to the command-and-control model, which involves mandatory reassignment plans, in order to evaluate the desegregation effectiveness of each plan. The public-choice model works for school desegregation. Mandatory reassignment produces more…