This paper discusses magnet schools generally and evaluates the other papers included with it in a single volume. Magnet schools have been fairly successful in meeting their stated goals, and in some cities, such as New York, they are so popular that parents must compete to gain their children's entrance. Still, magnets have tended to rely more on…

This paper briefly reviews the current racial balance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania public schools and discusses the development of an evaluation system to assess progress toward desegregation. Priority products and services of the Desegregation Evaluation Unit, formed in 1979, are listed. A number of problems that must be addressed in order for…

Magnet schools are designed to increase students' chances of obtaining the type of education they desire, but little is known about the actual relationship between the magnet school experience and its benefit to students once they leave it, and more research is needed. While a considerable amount has been written about the effects that magnet…

A careful review of the literature and an examination of desegregation programs in Los Angeles, show that the claim that voluntary programs produce almost no desegregation, and certainly less than mandatory programs, is open to question. Most comparisons between voluntary and mandatory programs have been between cities and have not taken into…

In this report, the Chicago Urban League assesses the Chicago Board of Education's proposed school desegregation plan. The report discusses eleven points of disagreement with plan provisions. The issues raised include: (1) the absence of concrete provisions, especially numerical standards, to ensure that existing black-white separation in Chicago…