Read on Twitter
To get a sense of how meaningful an at-priority in the common lottery might be, @dcpolicycenter just released an analysis of application patterns by at-risk status using three years of data from D.C.’s common lottery. https://www.dcpolicycenter.org/publications/at-risk-applications/ https://twitter.com/dcpolicycenter/status/1329079372020555782
Findings are relevant for schools and families who use the lottery, especially as Council passed legislation last week that allows public charter schools to opt into providing an at-risk priority in the common lottery starting in fall 2022.
https://lims.dccouncil.us/Legislation/B23-0717
https://lims.dccouncil.us/Legislation/B23-0717
In a previous report looking at public charter schools with high waitlists serving low percentages of at-risk students, @dcpolicycenter found that an at-risk priority could improve match rates for at-risk applicants and increase socioeconomic diversity. https://www.dcpolicycenter.org/publications/at-risk-priority/
There are three key findings. First, at-risk applicants are less likely to apply to the lottery, especially by the deadline. Not at-risk applicants apply during the lottery phase at one and a half times the number of at-risk applicants during the lottery.
Compared to roughly 5 out of 10 students who are at-risk throughout the school year, at-risk students are 3 out of 10 applicants during the lottery and 5 out of 10 during the post-lottery – when it is too late to match at high waitlist schools
Second, at-risk applicants are less likely to apply during early grades. This matters because a PK spot could determine where a student goes to school for 8 years of elementary, or even middle and high school with feeder patterns.
Third, even with these limitations, there are enough at-risk applicants to public charter schools with high waitlists serving low percentages of at-risk students for a priority to make a meaningful difference.
What does this mean? Schools for an at-risk preference will need new outreach to make sure at-risk applicants apply by the lottery deadline. Schools reserving seats will need to keep those seats open for a longer period.
For students and families using the lottery, this means that at-risk students living in Wards 4 and 5 are closer to most of public charter schools that might choose this preference. Those in Wards 7 and 8 live farther away.
Want to hear more? Join today’s event, Implications for schools implementing an at-risk priority in the lottery, at 1pm. See the invite for how to tune in on Facebook: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/implications-for-schools-implementing-an-at-risk-priority-in-the-lottery-tickets-125337841859
At today’s event, we will also host a panel discussion to share different perspectives on what these findings and an at-risk priority in the common lottery could mean. Join to hear more from representatives of @MySchoolDC, @DCPSPlanning, @EWStokesPCS, @kindred_dc, and @dcpave.
