Selection within the educational domain breeds a special kind of suspicion. Whether it is the absence of transparency in the selection procedure, the observable outcomes of the selection, or the criteria of selection itself, there is much to corroborate the suspicion many have that selection in practice is unfair. And certainly as it concerns primary and secondary education, the principle of educational equity requires that children not have their educational experiences or opportunities determined by their postcode, their ethnic status, first language, or family wealth. Indeed educational opportunities determined by unearned advantage or disadvantage offend against basic notions of fairness. But are public schools even permitted to select their students, and if so, how can selection procedures used by schools be best structured to achieve equitable ends? In this article we delineate, describe, and defend what we believe are the essential features of selection and also why we need to pay equal attention to both the outcomes and the processes leading to those outcomes. Provided the selection is motivated and guided by the right reasons, as well as appropriately monitored, we argue that selection can be equity promoting.

中文翻译：

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学校能否公平地选择学生？

教育领域内的选择滋生了一种特殊的怀疑。无论是选拔程序缺乏透明度，选拔的可观察结果，还是选拔标准本身，都可以证实许多人怀疑在实践中选拔不公平。当然，就中小学教育而言，教育公平原则要求儿童的教育经历或机会不受邮政编码、种族地位、母语或家庭财富的影响。事实上，由不劳而获的优势或劣势决定的教育机会违反了公平的基本概念。但是公立学校是否允许选择他们的学生，如果是这样，学校使用的选拔程序如何才能最好地结构化以实现公平目标？在本文中，我们描绘、描述和捍卫我们认为的选择的基本特征，以及为什么我们需要同等关注结果和导致这些结果的过程。如果选择受到正确理由的激励和指导，并受到适当的监控，我们认为选择可以促进公平。