“Impact evaluation of student assignment procedures on the social and educational diversity of high schools in the Île-de-France region”
The social and educational diversity of public and private high schools in the Île-de-France region has evolved in the context of a radical transformation of the rules that govern the assignment of students to upper secondary schools. Two major reforms that took place in the second half of the 2000s:
a) the introduction of greater flexibility in the choice of public high schools;
b) the implementation of an automated student assignment procedure called Affelnet, which is used to assign junior high school students to general and vocational upper secondary schools.
Despite the importance of these institutional changes, there is only limited empirical evidence on how these reforms affected the composition of the regions’ upper secondary schools.
This research project consists of two parts. First, it aims at evaluating the impact of the newly introduced student assignment procedures on the social and educational diversity of the Île-de-France region’s high schools, giving special consideration to the choice lists submitted by pupils and their families, and to the priority rules set by the different local educational authorities in the form of bonuses based on a variety of criteria (family income, distance to school, sibling priority, etc.). This distinction is essential to establish the specific contribution of the demand side and the supply side to the overall level of educational and social stratification that is observed across the region’s high schools. The second part of the study will focus on the factors that contribute to increase or decrease the educational and social mix within schools (integration of vocational training programs and general upper secondary courses, tracking of students, etc.)
Funding: This evaluation is funded by the Île-de-France Regional Council
Researchers: Gabrielle Fack (Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Julien Grenet (CNRS-PSE), Son-Thierry Ly (PSE), Éric Maurin (EHESS-PSE), Arnaud Riegert (PSE).
Partners:
- School Division of the Île-de-France Regional Council
- Local Educational Authorities of Paris, Créteil et Versailles
Publications
- IPP Report n°4 June 2014: “Social and academic mix in the Paris Region: the role of junior-high and high schools” (English version to come)
- IPP Policy Brief n°13: “Does the composition of classes affect social and educational diversity? “Passive” and “active” segregation in junior-high and high schools in the Paris region“
- IPP Report n°3 June 2014: “The impact of student assignment procedures on social and educational diversity in the high schools of the Paris region” (in French). Authors: Gabrielle Fack, Julien Grenet, Asma Benhenda.
- IPP Policy Brief n°11: “Can we increase the social and academic mix in the education system? The impact of allocation procedures on Lycée students in the Paris region“. Authors: Gabrielle Fack and Julien Grenet.
- Slides, 2nd July 2014: présentation de l’étude au 4e Atelier de l’Observatoire de la mixité sociale et de la réussite scolaire (Hémicycle du Conseil régional d’Île-de-France). Authors: Gabrielle Fack, Julien Grenet, Asma Benhenda.
Press articles
- Le Monde video, 1st July 2014: “Île-de-France: la ségrégation sociale au lycée expliquée en 4 graphiques“
- Le Monde, 1st July 2014: “Paris, capitale de la ségrégation scolaire au lycée“
- Julien Grenet interview
Ségrégation sociale dans les lycées franciliens… par lemondefr
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