Bridging language gaps : native language school assignment information under immediate acceptance

This paper examines how translating school assignment information into parents' native languages affects school choice outcomes in Bremen, a city state in Germany, where a strategyincentivizing immediate acceptance mechanism is used. While translated information was made available to non-German-speaking families, the coverage did not extend to all commonly spoken languages. Leveraging administrative data, I employ a difference-in-differences approach that exploits exogenous variation from students whose language spoken at home is not included in these translations. The results show that the access to translated information about the assignment mechanism increases the likelihood of ranking and attending academic schools, as well as self-selection to schools with a more favourable composition, suggesting improved comprehension of the admission process. Effects are stronger for high-performing students, females, and students eligible for welfare benefits. This study contributes to the literature by showing that reducing information gaps through native-language provision can shape school choice behaviour and improve equitable access to centralized school admissions.