Dive Summary:

• Alvin Roth won a shared Nobel Memorial Prize in economic sciences Monday for his 2003 redesign of New York City's high school admissions system.
• Prior to the redesign by Roth and his team, principals would rake through applications where eighth graders chose up to five preferences out of the city's 500 high school programs, with some only admitting students who listed their school as a first choice, and others by test scores or attendance, with some students never receiving a single offer.
• When the city had finally had enough of the complex system and the attempts of teachers and parents to game it, Roth and his team designed a more centralized and efficient system using an algorithm that allowed students to rank up to 12 schools and then tried to get as many matches as possible between a student's choices and the schools that were willing to accept them.

From the article:

Signing up to attend high school, a seemingly mundane task, used to be a nerve-racking game of strategy for more than 90,000 New York City students.  The system was so complex, in fact, that the man who helped with its redesign was awarded a shared Nobel Memorial Prize in economic sciences on Monday for his work. ...