Diverse Paths to College Success: The Impact of Massachusetts’ Urban and Nonurban Charter Schools on College Trajectories

The charter school movement encompasses many school models. In Massachusetts in the 2010’s, the site of our study, urban charter schools primarily used “No Excuses” practices, whereas nonurban charters had greater model variety. Using randomized admissions lotteries, we estimate the impact of charter schools by locality on college preparation, enrollment, and graduation. Urban charter schools boost all of these outcomes. Nonurban charter schools raise college enrollment and graduation despite reducing state test scores and AP enrollment. Our results suggest that there is more than one path to a college degree and that test score impacts may not predict college outcomes.