In a recent piece on the Brookings Institute blog, Matthew Chingos explored the question ‘Does Expanding School Choice Increase Segregation?’ Through analysis of nine years of data from the Common Core of Data (CCD), the federal government’s annual census of all public schools, Chingos delves into the demographic characteristics of charter school students and their counterparts in traditional public schools, which is often cited by public charter school critics as evidence that choice leads to segregation (even though previous research has indicated that public charter schools often match the demographics of the local traditional public schools).
For each of the more than 3,000 counties in the U.S., Chingos calculated an “exposure index” (measures the portion of non-minority students at the schools attended by the average under-represented minority student over time), “dissimilarity index” (an alternative measure of segregation), and panel data analysis that uses all nine years of CCD to estimate the relationship between charter enrollment and segregation using only the changes within counties over time. The results of all three measures consistently indicated no meaningful relationship between school choice and segregation. As Chingos summarizes, “the findings reported here indicate that it is unlikely that charter schools—a prominent effort to increase school choice, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds—are making the problem worse.” NAPCS noted in an issue brief released last year that one of the most exceptional developments within the first two decades of the public charter school movement has been the rise of high performing public charter schools with missions intently focused on educating students from traditionally underserved communities. Given that the demographics of these communities are often homogenous, it is no surprise the demographics of these schools are that way as well. In fact, the student populations at these public charter schools usually mirror the populations in nearby district schools. While much media attention rightly has been given to these schools, the past decade or so also has seen a noteworthy rise in high performing public charter schools with missions intentionally designed to serve racially and economically integrated student populations. These schools are utilizing their autonomy to achieve a diverse student population through location-based strategies, recruitment efforts and enrollment processes. Perhaps most notably, a growing number of cities—and the parents and educators in them—are welcoming both types of public charter school models for their respective (and in some cases unprecedented) contributions to raising student achievement, particularly for students who have previously struggled in school. Chingos’s analyses add to the evidence that the public school choice allows parents of choose the school environment that suits their student’s needs and is not a primary contributing factor to school (re)segregation.
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