From Merit to Map: Unveiling the Impact of Indonesia's Zone-Based Public High School Admission for Economically Disadvantaged Students
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Since 2017, Indonesia has implemented the zone-based admission policy, emphasizing geographical proximity over academic performance for public school admissions, which aims to make education more accessible and address admissions biases that favor wealthier families. This study assesses the impact of this policy on economically disadvantaged students' enrollment in senior high schools (SHS) and the overall continuation of the high school level from 2018 to 2019. The research utilizes data from the National Socioeconomic Survey (SUSENAS) and Indonesia Education Primary Data (DAPODIK) to integrate socioeconomic profiles with school availability and provincial policy information. The data is analyzed using probit regression and Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (IPTW) techniques. This quantitative analysis fills a gap in previous studies dominated by qualitative approaches, providing alternative insights into how the policy has affected underprivileged students. The findings indicate that the policy significantly increased enrollment in SHS and overall high school attendance among economically disadvantaged students.