How Does the New Orleans School Placement Algorithm Work, and What Is the Best Strategy for Getting a Preferred Placement?
In New Orleans, students are not assigned to a school-based only on where they live. Instead, families submit a ranked list of school requests through the NOLA-PS Common Application Process (NCAP), and then an algorithm assigns students to schools. Although aspects of the NCAP’s placement algorithm are complex—which can produce confusion and distrust—the basic idea is quite simple.
Visit the New Orleans Collaborative for Early Childhood Research for a related brief on the early childhood application process.
How Does the New Orleans School Placement Algorithm Work, and What Is the Best Strategy for Getting a Preferred Placement?
Published
by Jon Valant
- Descargar resumen en español * Tải bản tóm tắt bằng tiếng Việt This brief describes how the NCAP placement algorithm works. In an oversimplified way, it illustrates how the algorithm places students in schools. It then shows why strategies that families might think will help their chances of getting a preferred placement can only hurt those chances. Instead, an applicant’s best strategy is to rank schools from their most to least-preferred option.
Related Publications
How Do Families' Transportation Options Shape School Choice in New Orleans?
Apr 18, 2023 | by Jon Valant, Jane Arnold Lincove
Voices of New Orleans Youth 2022: How are our city's children doing after three unusual years?
Jan 31, 2023 | by Jamie M. Carroll, Douglas N. Harris, Alica Gerry, and Lindsay Weixler
The Effects of School Closure on the Teacher Labor Market: Evidence From Portfolio Management in New Orleans
Dec 16, 2020 | by Jane Arnold Lincove, Deven Carlson, Nathan Barrett