School assignment policies are a key lever to increase access to high performing schools and to promote racial and socioeconomic integration. For over 50 years, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) has bussed students of color from Boston, Massachusetts to relatively wealthier and predominantly White suburbs. Using a…

This article reviews the literature evaluating the impact of school choice programs on racial integration. Evidence on the impacts of magnet schools, voluntary busing programs, open enrollment practices, charter schools, and voucher programs is reviewed. The literature is mixed on this question, finding that the impacts of choice on racial…

Background/Context: Prior research on "Milliken v. Bradley" focuses on the failure of this case to implement interdistrict busing in the highly segregated Detroit schools. Much of this work focuses explicitly on desegregation, rather than on equity and addressing individual, systemic, institutional, and organizational challenges that may…

In today's increasingly diverse society, the legitimacy and strength of the democratic form of government depends on equitable access to graduate and professional education for individuals from all races and ethnicities. Yet, despite recent increases in enrollment, students of color remain severely underrepresented in graduate and professional…

Background/Context: One of the most critical functions of a well-integrated school is the development of "culturally flexible" students who, over the course of their social development, effectively navigate diverse social environs such as the workplace, communities, and neighborhoods. Most studies, albeit with some exceptions, have…

Using a method of cluster analysis, patterns of social integration behavior in a multiracial high school and the success of a program of integration were examined. The study attempted to relate the success or failure of an integration program to the degree to which individual students were integrated into the social scene. (JN)

This report presents the evaluation of a court approved desegregation plan for elementary schools in the school district of the City of Erie, Pennsylvania, starting with the school year in September 1975. The plan was that the district's elementary school would house grades K-5. Two elementary schools, Garfield and Longfellow, would close and…

The focus of this paper is on the methodology used in analyzing studies on the effects of school desegregation on black achievement. The paper also addresses a number of substantive issues, including the overall effectiveness of school desegregation, the impact of type of achievement (math or reading), and time of desegregation (early or later…

This paper compares the effects of desegregation on black achievement with the effects of other factors in the process of school learning that have recently been synthesized. The first section of the paper discusses techniques and guidelines for research synthesis, including meta-analysis. The second section presents a summary of the statistical…

A 1973 evaluation of the Emergency School Assistance Program (ESAP) showed that it was effective in improving the academic achievement of tenth grade black male students. This study further analyzes this important result with the aim of finding useful information for the operation of the Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) which replaced ESAP. Several…

The original evaluation of the effect of Emergency School Assistance Programs (ESAP) in the second year, indicated that black male tenth graders in schools receiving the emergency aid did significantly better on a test of academic performance than did similar students in non-funded comparison schools. No program effects were reported for other…