Assignment feedback in school choice mechanisms

This paper experimentally investigates the provision of real-time feedback
about school assignments during the preference reporting period in three
widely employed mechanisms: deferred acceptance, top trading cycles, and
the Boston mechanism. Adaptive models predict that greater sensitivity to
tentative assignments during the reporting period will produce more
equilibrium assignments in all three mechanisms. Consistent with adaptive
predictions, real-time assignment feedback consistently increased
equilibrium assignments but did not increase truthful reporting. These
findings suggest that providing feedback about assignments during the
preference reporting period could help student assignment mechanisms more
reliably achieve policy goals.