The inequitable transition to the high school system. Case study: high school admission in Bucharest, Romania

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to analyze the interaction between the principle of proximity in the enrollment process to primary school and the high school admission mechanism from an educational equity perspective. Specifically, I conduct a case study in which I analyze how the type of school graduated by a student in Bucharest influences the type of high school at which she will be admitted, given the present system of allocation. As such, I am interested in identifying the extent to which the school where the student is enrolled (when parents, theoretically cannot choose, as it is dependent on the street where they reside) can represent an explanatory factor for the probability to be admitted at a particular high school (a stage when parents and students can manifest their preferences for a school/specialization).