The Impact of Student Composition on Academic Achievement in Southern High Schools
Abstract
A major issue in education over the last 50 years concerns the extent and impact of racial segregation in American schools. Despite the importance of this topic, little empirical research has been conducted on the long-term effects segregation on student achievement. This study investigates this important policy issue by analyzing longitudinal data from over 14,000 students attending more than 900 highs schools in the southern and non-southern regions of the United States between 1988 and 1992. The analysis reveals that the socioeconomic composition of students’ high schools has a more powerful effect on how much students learn in high school than their own socioeconomic status, especially in the South. The analysis also found that the powerful effects of socioeconomic composition, at least in the South, are explained by policies and practices that could be addressed through educational reforms. Nonetheless, the analysis also revealed that most of the variability in student achievement is attributable to the characteristics of students and their families, and not the characteristics of their schools. Hence, true equality of educational opportunity can only be achieved by addressing the pronounced disparities in the backgrounds and circumstances of students and their families.
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