Selection into Public Education by Age and Family Income
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Public education is conceptualized as a public good available to all children regardless of background or resources. Although prior research has documented differences in public school utilization and experiences based on family income (e.g., red-shirting, dropping out, homeschooling, and private schooling), these insights are generally based on coarser binary measures of income, such as eligibility for free/reduced-price lunch. Using educational administrative data from a Western state and administrative records from the US Census Bureau, including IRS tax returns and SNAP, we document student enrollment in public schools across the family income distribution by age-imputed grade level. Our findings show that the most affluent families have the highest rate of public school opt-out and suggest the popularity of delaying kindergarten among middle- and high-income families. We also document a concerning pattern of declining public-school enrollment for low-income children as they age, with dramatic drops in high school likely reflecting disproportionate dropout. While higher-income families use public school selectively, children from low-income families may lose out on public education’s promise.
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