School Choice: A Comparative Analysis of Student Achievement in New York City Publicly Funded Elementary Schools

This study examines school choice patterns for the 2012 NYC kindergarten cohort through fifth grade. More than 40% of students opt out of their zoned schools, particularly Black and Hispanic families in lower-performing, segregated districts. Charter school students outperform peers in zoned or unassigned public schools by 0.25–0.50 standard deviations. For Black and Hispanic students, charter enrollment yields substantial academic gains, with math achievement often matching or exceeding that of White students in traditional public schools. Greater achievement differences between charter and non-charter students are observed in the most racially segregated neighborhoods.