ERIC Number: ED591841
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jun
Pages: 56
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
School Segregation in the Era of Immigration and School Choice: North Carolina, 1998-2016. Working Paper No. 198-0618-1
Clotfelter, Charles T.; Hemelt, Steven W.; Ladd, Helen F.; Turaeva, Mavzuna
National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER)
We document patterns and trends in school segregation in North Carolina between 1998 and 2016, a period of rapid immigration in this racially diverse state. As in other states of the South, the period of court orders enforcing racial balance has given way not only to tacit acceptance of residentially based school segregation but also to policies that offer parents alternatives to traditional public schools. Most prominent among these alternatives in North Carolina are charter schools, which have expanded rapidly with the state's blessing. Following the prevailing practice of social scientists, we measure segregation by the degree of imbalance across schools, using counties and metropolitan areas as basic geographical units. We differentiate students according to their racial/ethnic group and also to their family income. We take into account all students including those in private schools, charter schools and traditional public schools. For the state as a whole, we find that white/nonwhite segregation increased over the period. Most of the increase was in urban areas. We also find that low-income students became more segregated from other students. Segregation measured either way increased sharply in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, which significantly changed its student assignment policy following a federal court order. Compared to metropolitan areas in other parts of the U.S., urban areas in the state have modest levels of segregation, because most districts are county-wide and thus large and diverse. We decompose metropolitan segregation, separating the portions due to private schools, charter schools, racial disparities between school districts, and racial disparities within districts. Charter schools and within-district disparities accounted for the increase in average segregation in metropolitan areas over the period. More generally, areas where school segregation increased the most tend to be large, growing, and marked by big increases in the share of students who are Hispanic.
Descriptors: School Segregation, Immigration, Immigrants, School Choice, Educational Trends, Charter Schools, Ethnic Groups, Family Income, Racial Differences, Student Placement, Court Litigation, Urban Areas, Private Schools, School Districts, Trend Analysis
National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research. American Institutes for Research, 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street NW, Washington, DC 20007. Tel: 202-403-5796; Fax: 202-403-6783; e-mail: info@caldercenter.org; Web site: https://caldercenter.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A