Equitable access to high-quality schooling has been a prevailing concern among educational stakeholders for decades. Magnet schools were first developed in the 1960s to improve academic achievement and attract a more diverse student body by offering unique programs and instruction not provided at other sites within the same district. With…

Early STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education plays a pivotal role in shaping children's science and visual literacy skills. However, in South Africa, there are notable challenges such as delayed initiation of science education and inadequate emphasis on visual literacy. This study aims to investigate the influence of…

This dissertation investigates the impact of attending a STEM-designated elementary school on students' math, ELA (English Language Arts), and science achievement and growth scores. As technology continues to advance in education, educators are exploring innovative instructional methods. With a concerning decline in math proficiency nationwide,…

This brief describes the components found in magnet schools that are both racially diverse and educationally effective. It also outlines four evidence-based policy recommendations that can inform federal, state, and local efforts to help design, implement, and sustain effective magnet schools that foster integrated learning and positive student…

Gill, Brandi. Student Achievement Comparison between Traditional Schools and Schools of Choice: A Quantitative Study, (under the direction of Theodore Kaniuka, Ed.D) This study provides a detailed review of school choice literature nationally and within the state of North Carolina. The literature revealed limited studies focused on school choice…

A key goal of many magnet programs is to improve student diversity in schools. This snapshot describes efforts by those participating in the U.S. Department of Education's Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP). Findings are based on surveys completed by most of the more than 160 schools recently funded by MSAP grants and interviews with their…

Schools' priorities in student selection constitute the basis for fairness in school admissions. We study the case where schools are active strategic players that rank their applicants in terms of priorities. A methodological framework is developed to examine the impact of the variation in the admission settings on the equality of opportunity in…

The vision for the Leadership Richland One MSAP project was that all students will have the opportunity to succeed academically through a high-quality education in an environment characterized by diverse social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. To improve student achievement, major project goals and objectives focus on four areas:…

America's urban communities have continued to face many challenges, especially the challenge of education, for several decades. Although factors such as racial injustice and community-driven problems have been used to explain the educational disparities in predominantly Black urban communities, many Black students, particularly males, have been…

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…

Two-way dual language (DL) classrooms enroll students of two different language backgrounds and teach curriculum in both languages. I estimate the effect of attending a DL school on student achievement using school choice lotteries from Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District in North Carolina, finding local average treatment effects of 0.04 and…

WestEd has made substantial progress on the evidence of promise study for Clark County School District's (CCSD) 2017 Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant. WestEd collected the necessary student-level test score, course credit, and demographic data from CCSD for the study to identify statistically significant or substantively important…

Migrant and immigrant education are both problematic and impactful in the U.S., which often identifies itself as "a nation of immigrants", though these concepts are currently criticized by a conservative government intent on building walls rather than bridges. Nevertheless, schools throughout the country have demonstrated an ability to…

We examine the views of low-income urban parents toward their neighborhood school. Policymakers must understand the attitudes of these individuals, particularly because they represent some of the most vulnerable groups in our education system. As national education policies have made it easier for parents to choose schools, attention has…

School choice is a hotly debated issue in today's press, politics, and public discourse. In principle, the idea of families being able to choose the public school that is best for their children has widespread appeal. Interest in choice has been fueled in part by distinctive views about educational approaches and in part by the fact that…