Are lotteries the best chance for the success of students and schools? A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of school randomised admissions

Abstract Several school systems or specific school programmes around the world involve the use of lotteries to assign students into schools. This admission mechanism is usually favoured to foster equality of opportunities in education. However, there has not been an effort to systematise existing evaluations of this type of interventions. This review protocol proposes to contribute to the literature on this topic with a systematic search and a meta-analysis, from an international perspective, of the effects that randomised school admissions have on student academic performance and school socioeconomic composition measures. The results and policy implications will serve as a new and relevant contribution for researchers and policy makers related to school choice, and for education authorities involved with school lotteries.