In a new study, researchers at Brown and Yale Universities have found that students who won a randomized lottery and were able to exercise school choice experienced higher student achievement relative to students who lost in the random lottery. This finding is not new information--many studies find that school choice improves learning outcomes for students.

What is new in the study and what makes this study interesting is that the researchers find that students who won the lottery also devoted more effort to school--EVEN BEFORE THEY WERE ABLE TO EXERCISE CHOICE. It appears that the act of giving students and their families choice, improved students' motivation.

Specifically, students who won the lottery and were able to choose a school that their families deemed better increased their attendance rates even before moving to their new schools. The authors interpret this finding as, "students exerting more effort towards academics at their current school due to an increase in intrinsic motivation from knowing that they will be able to attend a school of their choice in the subsequent school year."

As Nobel Prize winning economist Gary Becker indicated decades ago, showing up, being on time, and other social skills have a high value in the labor market. School choice advocates should not underestimate the benefits of educational freedom on non-academic, yet important, outcomes for students and their families. The students in the study who won the lottery are developing habits and skills that will serve them well for their entire lives. Giving people ownership over important life decisions such as where to go to school appears to increase their will to succeed.

A summary of the study can be found here: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18324