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)

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)

Analyzes Boston's decline in white enrollment, the effect school desegregation has had on this decline and on racial balance, and whether school desegregation has led to resegregation of the school system. (Author)

Cost-effectiveness analysis provides a useful tool for choosing between alternative desegregation plans or justifying one particular plan. Previous analyses of school desegregation effects on white enrollment, which focus only upon costs, have had limited use for policy. Traditional cost-benefit analysis poses problems because of the difficulty of…

The evidence presented in this study of 113 school districts in the United States from 1964 or earlier to 1975-76 suggests that school desegregation has a disintegrative effect during implementation and an integrative effect in post-implementation years. (Author/AM)

Discussed in this report are the extent and causes of white flight from school desegregation and policy options for controlling it. After an introductory section, the report considers the extent of white flight from desegregating schools, taking into account the effects of suburbanization, interregional migration, and differentials in…

The context and effects of desegregation on the racial composition of school districts are described with the characteristics and causes of White flight from the schools involved. Federal and state policy options are presented in terms of desegregation plan design, public information needs, metropolitan-wide programs and incentives for voluntary,…

This paper analyzes Boston's decline in white enrollment, the effect school desegregation had on this decline and on racial balance, and whether school desegregation has led to resegregation in the school system. The data indicate that white public school enrollment began declining long before school desegregation. Boston's experience with school…

The flight of white families from communities in response to school desegregation can be calculated as a "cost" of desegregation, and can be analyzed in relation to the "net benefit"--interracial contact--of various school desegregation plans. Moreover, mass media and minimally, community leadership, affect the rate of white…

This study compares the long-term desegregation effectiveness of voluntary plans with magnet schools to mandatory reassignment plans with magnet schools. The introduction includes an extensive discussion of the problems of choosing dependent variables for use in desegregation studies. The potential study population was chosen based on the…

Analyzes the history and outcomes of parent choice and magnet schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Finds that parent choice has resulted in greater interracial exposure than the prior mandatory reassignment plan, and that student achievement has increased. (FMW)

The impact of school desegregation policy on community voting patterns and white flight in northern school districts is analyzed. Both voting behavior and white flight are considered two indicators of the success of school desegregation in achieving community social integration. School board elections, school tax referenda voting trends, and…