Students' School Preferences and Outcomes: Evidence from Admission Lotteries
School choice may improve student-school matches but may also increase segregation. Using administrative and survey data from Amsterdam, we study whether attending a preferred secondary school improves a comprehensive set of academic and non-academic outcomes. Exploiting admission lotteries in the city's matching system, we compare students who win or lose access to their preferred schools. Lottery losers attend schools with more disadvantaged, more diverse peers and lower value added measures. Yet we find no evidence that preferred-school attendance improves outcomes. Students assigned to less preferred schools show greater social civic engagement, underscoring school assignment's role in social integration.