ERIC Number: ED610051
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Aug
Pages: 37
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Who Wins the Preschool Lottery? Applicants and Application Patterns in DC Public Prekindergarten. Research Report
Greenberg, Erica; Luetmer, Grace; Chien, Carina; Monarrez, Tomas
Urban Institute
Since 2014, the District of Columbia has used an annual common application to place new students from prekindergarten for 3-year-olds (PK3) through 12th grade in DC Public Schools (DCPS) and DC public charter schools. Though K-12 students have the right to attend their in-boundary school, this policy does not extend to students in PK3 or PK4 (prekindergarten for 4-year-olds). Instead, prekindergarten students apply through a common lottery for a spot at one of the District's public school options. In the first comprehensive description of DC public prekindergarten applicants and application patterns, we demonstrate that PK3 and PK4 lotteries differ substantially, both in families' application choices and in outcomes. We find that applicants and matched applicants closely resemble their respective populations of 3- and 4-year-old children in DC, but wait-listed applicants disproportionately represent socioeconomically advantaged 3- and 4-year-old children in DC, as well as families in immigrant communities.
Descriptors: Preschool Education, Selective Admission, Competitive Selection, Admission (School), School Choice, Barriers, Access to Education, Social Bias, Racial Bias, Racial Differences, Immigrants, Language Usage, Family Environment, Disabilities, Employment Level, Poverty, Welfare Services, Educational Attainment, Ownership, Motor Vehicles
Urban Institute. 2100 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037. Tel: 202-261-5687; Fax: 202-467-5775; Web site: http://www.urban.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Heising-Simons Foundation
Authoring Institution: Urban Institute, Center on Education Data and Policy
Identifiers - Location: District of Columbia; Massachusetts (Boston)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: American Community Survey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A