ABSTRACT

The idea behind magnet schools is that they should specialise in some way: one well-known New York magnet school specialises, e.g. in the performing arts; others are concerned with science or technology. In addition to catering for special interests, magnet schools also provide a broad curriculum. Some magnet schools in New York and Washington are very popular, but their critics complain that they succeed by attracting the most motivated parents in a district, thus making the problems for other schools more severe. There have been some attempts to evaluate magnet schools in the USA, but without conclusive results.