Neighborhood influence towards students' performance in charter school

This thesis examines the influence of neighborhood on charter school. Despite admission by lottery, students are more likely than not to enroll in charter schools close to home that share characteristics with the surrounding neighborhoods. The characteristics of charter schools also relate to students' academic performance, as do the similarity of neighborhood and school characteristics. Results show that if a neighborhood has more poor residents, then students' academic performance in the nearby charter school is lower. Similar results emerge in the correlation between performance and race; for example, a larger population of African--American residents in the neighborhood coincides with the poorer academic performance at the charter school. By contrast, larger populations of white and Latino residents in the neighborhood seem to exert a positive effect on academic performance at charter schools.