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2006 - How Middle School Segregation Contributes to the Race Gap in Academic Achievement

Attribution: Mickelson, Roslyn A.
Researchers: Roslyn A. Mickelson
University Affiliation: UNC-Charlotte
Email: rmicklsn@uncc.edu
Research Question:
Studies the effects of school racial composition on the academic outcomes of middle school students
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: N/A
Journal Entry: January
Year: 2006
Findings:
  • The study finds that segregation has a direct negative effect on math and reading scores.
  • With controls for family-level and student-level variables, attending racially isolated minority elementary schools depresses 8th grade math and reading scores for Black and White students.
  • A greater concentration of minority students in a middle school depresses reading scores, net of other school, family and individual-level factors.
  • Track placement affects academic achievement. The higher the track, the better students perform. Family background and race influence track placement.
  • Elementary school segregation directly and negatively affects track placement
  • Black students are rarely placed in higher tracks and are disproportionately represented in lower tracks, regardless of the racial composition of the school
Keywords: Academic AchievementAchievement GapDesegregationMathMiddle SchoolReadingResegregationSegregationTrackingRegions: SouthMethodologies: MixedAnalysis Methods: Multilevel Models Sampling Frame:Charlotte Mecklenburg School District
Sampling Types: RandomAnalysis Units: StudentData Types: Mixed-Cross Sectional
Data Description:
  • The study takes a random sample of 1996-1997 8th grade English classes, stratified by track. Every middle school in the CMS district is included. Total of 2,730 students in the sample. One class from each of 3 track levels at each school is analyzed. Only black and white students are analyzed.
  • Survey data collected in 1997 measures demographic data, student educational attitudes and aspirations, family background, achievement, effort, schools attended. CMS district records- school-level data. Additional data are taken from aggregate school system data and in-depth interviews with educators, parents, and civic leaders; CMS documents and reports; expert witness reports from desegregation trial; interviews with principals, administrators, and school board members.
  • DV: 8th grade EOG math and reading standardized test scores and track placement (regular, AG, or pre-IB).
  • IV: Track placement, race, gender, family background, cultural capital, effort, prior achievement, abstract attitudes toward educaion, concrete attitudes toward education, proportion of elementary education in a segregated African American school, middle school percent minority concentration, percent new to the profession, tenure, license, percentage of teachers in a school who had a MA as of 1997.
Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation Abstracts
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