Admissions 101
Admissions 101
Trading tips with Jay Mathews on winning at college admissions.

Why ultra-selective high schools don’t make our kids better prepared for college

I have a column on my blog and in the paper this week on a new study by economists at MIT and Duke showing that students rejected by exclusive public schools like Boston Latin and Bronx Science don’t do any worse on average on SAT or AP tests after attending their non-exclusive high schools than similar students who attended those prestigious institutions. The authors conclude “the intense competition for exam school seats does not appear to be justified by improved learning for a broad set of students.”

They argue that the peer effects that so many of us parents believe in don’t exist. Our kids will not learn more just because everyone else at their school is a genius. Regular high schools often have enough good teachers and students to give a motivated student all the encouragement she needs to do just as well as she would if she had gotten into Stuyvesant. I think that is true also for the very selective and competitive private schools that people like me have spent heavily on. Am I wrong?

- Jay Mathews

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