School Composition and the Black-White Achievement Gap

  1. The authors classify the density of schools based on their percent Black in the student population.
  2. Black students, on average, are in schools that are 48 percent Black, whereas White students are, on average, are in schools that are 9 percent Black.
  3. 86% of White students attend schools with 0-20 percent Black students within the school; 35% of Black students attend schools with 60-100 percent Black students within the school.
  4. The Black-White achievement gap was larger in the high density schools than in low density schools.
  5. Overall achievement for White and Black students in high density schools was lower than in low density schools.
  6. Achievement for both Black and White students was lowest in the highest Black density schools.
  7. After the authors accounted for factors such as student socioeconomic status and other student, and school level characteristics, a) the Black-White gap was higher in high density compared to low density schools, b) there were no significant differences for White students in high compared to low density schools, c) differences remained for Blacks, with Blacks in high density schools continuing to perform worse than those in low density schools, d) this was especially true for Black males in high density schools.