School Choice in German Primary Schools:How Binding are School Districts?

The paper analyzes school choice in primary schools in Germany. The data used isfrom Wuppertal, a major city in North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW), where primaryschool districts existed before 2008. It is shown that it is not uncommon to attend aprimary school that is not the assigned public school. Parents choose schools basedupon the achievement level and the socioeconomic composition of the school, and uponthe distance between the school and their home. Compared to families from advantagedneighborhoods, families from disadvantaged neighborhoods more often sendtheir children to the assigned school. A high percentage of immigrants and/or economicallydisadvantaged families in the school district is likely to induce parents tochoose another school. While advantaged families make choices leading to segregation,the direction of choice is not as clear-cut for disadvantaged families. We foundthat choice has a negative external effect on the composition of the assigned schooland a high level of segregation in primary schools, which exceeds the level of residentialsegregation.