Research concerning family preferences for schooling indicates that they value proximity to home as much as academic quality when choosing schools. However, preferences for proximity likely represent inability to access schools farther away from home, especially for disadvantaged students. I test whether distance and district boundaries constrain access to high-performing and effective schools for Detroit students where families choose between intradistrict, interdistrict, and charter schools, as well as an assigned school. I employ a unique data set that includes enrollment records, addresses, and commute times for Detroit residents regardless of where they attend school. Results show that disadvantaged students have little access to the highest quality schools available, specifically those outside Detroit. However, students attend higher performing schools within Detroit.

有关家庭对上学偏好的研究表明，他们在选择学校时重视与家庭的距离以及学业质量。但是，对就近的偏爱可能表示无法进入离家较远的学校，特别是对处境不利的学生。我测试了距离和区域边界是否会限制底特律学生进入高性能和高效学校的机会，这些学生的家庭可以在区内，区间和特许学校以及指定的学校之间进行选择。我采用了一个独特的数据集，其中包括底特律居民的入学记录，地址和通勤时间，无论他们在哪里上学。结果表明，处境不利的学生几乎没有机会进入现有的最高质量的学校，特别是底特律以外的学校。然而，