Doctoral Dissertation Research: Voluntary Desegregation and Educational Outcomes.

斯坦福大学种族和种族在学业成就和社会成就上的差异是美国教育版图的持久特征。针对这些差异的一个突出的法律和政策补救措施是取消学校种族隔离。然而，目前还不清楚，不平等在多大程度上是由学校环境的差异造成的，还是由家庭背景和其他校外属性的差异造成的。在这项研究中，调查人员随机分配学生参加废除种族隔离计划，以回答这样一个问题：“考虑到相同的家庭背景，进入一所更融合、更优秀的学校对少数族裔学生有什么影响？”这项分析使用了一项自愿的跨学区废除种族隔离计划的数据，该计划允许少数族裔学生从一个以少数族裔和低收入为主的地区转移到邻近的、主要是白人和中上阶层的地区。该项目将使用三个数据来源来评估感兴趣的结果：1)学区行政记录，以评估学业结果；2)学生和家长调查，以评估社会结果；以及3)深入的家长和学生访谈，以测试将学校背景与学生结果联系起来的机制。以前的研究主要集中在学校对学业成绩的影响上；然而，学校环境的一些最深刻的影响可能是社会的--反映在学生的态度、友谊、公民参与程度以及种族和民族认同上。这种混合方法的方法将提供一个机会来探索驱动观察结果的过程，这是以前的研究所遗漏的。广泛的影响：这项研究对少数群体和低收入青年的教育机会有影响。种族成就差距已被证明是顽固的，尽管《不让一个孩子掉队》立法在问责程序方面带来了彻底的变化。很少有好的证据表明，在学校废除种族隔离可以如何缩小成绩差距，或者它如何在社会上为少数族裔和低收入学生未来参与主流环境做好准备，比如多样化的四年制大学或白领工作。通过向学者、政策制定者和学校实践者广泛传播这项研究的发现，这些发现可能会为学校分配决策提供潜在的信息。

SES-0903080Sean ReardonKendra BischoffStanford UniversityRacial and ethnic disparities in academic achievement and social outcomes are persistent features of the U.S. educational landscape. One prominent legal and policy remedy for these disparities is school desegregation. It is unclear, however, to what extent inequalities stem from differences in school environments or from differences in family background and other extra-school attributes. In this research, the investigators exploit a random assignment of students to a desegregation program to answer the question, "Given the same family background, what is the effect on minority students of attending a more integrated, higher-achieving school?" The analysis uses data from a voluntary interdistrict desegregation plan that allows minority students to transfer from a largely minority and low-income district into neighboring, mostly white and upper middle-class districts. The project will use three sources of data to assess the outcomes of interest: 1) School district administrative records to assess academic outcomes; 2) Student and parent surveys to assess social outcomes; and 3) In-depth parent and student interviews to test the mechanisms that connect school context to student outcomes. Prior research has primarily focused on the effect of schools on academic outcomes; however, some of the most profound effects of school context are likely social--reflected in students' attitudes, friendships, level of civic engagement, and racial and ethnic identities. This mixed-method approach will provide an opportunity to explore the processes that drive the observed outcomes, something that has been lost on previous research.Broader Impacts: This research has implications for the educational opportunities for minority and low-income youth. Racial achievement gaps have proven to be stubborn, despite the sweeping changes in accountability procedures brought about by the No Child Left Behind legislation. There is very little good evidence on the ways in which desegregation in schools may alleviate achievement gaps or how it may socially prepare minority and low-income students for future participation in mainstream settings, such as diverse 4-year colleges or white-collar jobs. By broadly disseminating the findings from this study to academics, policy makers, and school practitioners, findings could potentially inform school assignment decisions.