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…

We examine whether the legal decision to grant unitary status to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district, which led to the end of race-conscious student assignment policies, increased the probability that families with children enrolled in the district would move to neighborhoods with a greater proportion of student residents of the same race as…

In 1982 civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson criticized President Ronald Reagan's attacks on busing to coerce school desegregation for targeting "not the bus, but us." Two decades later, the United States Supreme Court ended the thirty-two-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, plan which had launched the era of court-ordered busing…

We evaluate the integrating and segregating effects of three distinct school choice programs in San Diego. We go beyond the traditional question of racial integration and examine the integration of students by test scores, parental education levels, and language status. In addition to measuring the net integrative effects of school choice, we also…

Argues that instead of busing schoolchildren to achieve desegregation, districts should seek ways of educating children effectively wherever they live, regardless of race. Offers suggestions for achieving this goal. (Author/WD)

Studies of desegregation effects on student achievement show no clear trends, although most of the studies report positive outcomes. The variance reported in desegregation studies has been attributed to: 1) type of desegregation plan; 2) duration of desegregation; 3) characteristics of the schools and communities involved; and 4) methodology used…

This study examined the effects of desegregation on the achievement scores of second grade students in Louisville, Kentucky, who participated in the system's desegregation plan. The Stanford Achievement Tests were administered to students at the end of first grade to determine achievement levels in reading and mathematics. At the end of second…

In this article, two responses to Diane Ravitch's article, "The "White Flight' Controversy," contained in the Spring issue of The Public Interest, are presented. (AM)

Describes a study that evaluated the impact of a voluntary busing program begun in Chicago for the purpose of school desegregation. Discusses student academic achievement, student affect, classroom interaction, and parent attitudes. Concludes that, though the program was not detrimental to students in desegregated schools, parent discontent seemed…

Examines what Carr found when he investigated the accuracy of David Armor's predictions on the effects of continuing and discontinuing busing in Norfolk (Virginia). Argues against Carr's assertions that because Armor's predictions were in error, there is no White flight in response to busing. (JS)

Presents results of four surveys which measured the impact of the implementation of a desegregation plan involving busing on public opinions in New Castle County, Delaware. Over time, White suburban opposition to busing lessened in magnitude, but city and Black opposition increased. Those closest to the public schools were most likely to react…

Discusses numerous issues related to school desegregation and the Brown decision, including: (1) misconceived psychological arguments used to bolster the case for "Brown"; (2) student and community attitudes toward busing; (3) effects of busing; (4) regional differences in compliance with school desegregation; and (5) recent court…

Compares the effectiveness of magnet schools in increasing interracial contact in two contexts: (1) districts using magnet schools as the alternative to forced busing; and (2) districts using magnet schools as a component of a mandatory desegregation plan. (Author/BE)

Notes the well-known scholars, politicians, and other individuals who are joining the trend to abandon busing as a method of achieving integration. (IRT)

This legal case may answer some questions for lawyers on the limits to which desegregation may be carried under the backing of the Brown decision, yet it raises several specific questions that educators and educational researchers ought to address concerning factors that contribute to effective integration. (AM)