"Jockeying for Position: High School Student Mobility and Texas' Top Ten Percent Rule" (joint with Julie Cullen and Mark Long)
Abstract: Beginning in 1998, all high school students in the state of Texas who graduated in the top-10 percent of their high school class were guaranteed admission to any public higher education institution, including the University of Texas. While the goal of the policy was to improve access for disadvantaged and minority students, the use of a school-specific standard to determine eligibility could have unintended consequences. Students may benefit from switching schools near the end of their high school career in order to change their peer reference group and increase the chances of being in the top-10 percent. In our analysis of student mobility patterns before and after the policy change, we find evidence that these strategic moves did occur.