Magnet Schools. Education Policy Studies Occasional Papers. EPS 83, No. 4.

Magnet schools are district-wide, open-enrollment institutions that are thematically organized around such subject areas as science and mathematics, the performing arts, or career areas such as engineering. They are largely non-selective; that is, students who apply are evaluated primarily on the basis of their interests and motivation rather than their academic record or test scores. The first such school in this country was Boston Latin, founded in 1635; several others founded later are also well-known. Originally designed to serve the needs of a small intellectual elite, magnet schools now have the twin focus of improving educational quality while increasing racial integration. They also provide a setting for teacher-generated reform initiatives. In 1981-82 there were 1,018 elementary and secondary magnet schools in the United States. Continuing research and analysis to increase our knowledge base about long-term effects of magnet schools should be supported by the Federal government. Furthermore, the Federal government should support a large scale magnet school demonstration program of three magnets for each standard metropolitan statistical area, plus several additional magnets per State based on population; this plan would more than double the existing number of magnets and lay the foundation for long-term incremental change. (CJM)