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The overall student achievement was higher for all races under the income-based plan in Wake county and the performances of Black and Latino students improved at a faster rate, narrowing the achievement gap between racial groups.
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Achievement gaps decreased more under the income-based assignment plan than under the race based assignment plan.
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A modest increase was found in the level of racial segregation in Wake schools under the income-based plan, but compared with other large districts in the state, which had no diversity-based plans, Wake County remained relatively desegregated.
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A small increase was found in reading and math test scores and the Black-White test score gap narrowed under the income-based assignment plan.
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The analysis indicates that the improvement in math scores may be partially due to school racial composition changes attributable to the income-based assignment plan.
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Unique circumstances in the district may have been important contributors to the success of the socioeconomic-based assignment plan. For example, Wake County has a relatively high correlation between race and free or reduced price lunch status, which makes the latter variable a better proxy in comparison to other counties.
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The data suggests that the change in assignment plans did not significantly change the number or type of students who were redistricted between schools.
2015 - Can Class-Based Substitute for Race-Based Student Assignment Plans? Evidence from Wake County, North Carolina.
McMillian, Monique M., Fuller, Sarah, Hill, Zoelene, Duch, Kate, & Darity Jr., William A.
University Affiliation: Morgan State University
Email: drmmmcmillian@gmail.com
Research Question:
1. Were Wake County schools more racially integrated under the race-based or the socioeconomic-based pupil assignment plan? 2. Was overall student achievement higher under the race-based or socioeconomic-based plan? 3. Did achievement gaps increase or decrease under the race-based or socioeconomic-based plan? 4. Was school racial composition correlated with changes in performance under the race-based or socioeconomic assignment plan?
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Urban Education
Journal Entry: DOI: 10.1177/0042085915613554
Year: 2015
Findings:
Data Description:
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North Carolina Education Research Data Center.
School level demographic data from the years 1992/93-2008/09.
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Student level demographics End of Grade test scores for third-eighth graders from 1994-95 school year through 2004-05 school year.
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Independent variables; Race based plan, Socioeconomic based plan.
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Dependent variables; Standardized reading and math scores; race gaps in achievement; school district racial diversity (Diversity Index).
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Controlled for Students’ race/ethnicity, gender, free-or-reduced price lunch status, limited English proficiency, parental educational level, and linear and quadratic time trends. In the final model the authors also controlled for school racial composition.
Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation Abstracts