School Choice and Educational Mobility: Lessons from Secondary School Applications in Ghana

Merit‐based school choice often presents an unfulfilled promise of educational mobility. In Ghana, where a standardized exam determines secondary school admission, students from low‐performing elementary schools apply to weaker secondary schools than equally qualified students from high‐performing elementary schools. This study investigates why students with the same academic potential make different application choices. I outline a theoretical model and empirical strategy to analyze heterogeneity in student demand. Using administrative data, I show that disadvantaged students value school proximity more and live farther away from high‐performing schools, suggesting the interaction between demand and the spatial distribution of schools limits educational mobility.