Ethnic Segregation in Arizona Charter Schools

Abstract

Among the criticisms of charter schools is their potential to further stratify schools along ethnic and class lines. This study addressed whether Arizona charter schools are more ethnically segregated than traditional public schools. In 1996-97, Arizona had nearly one in four of all charter schools in the United States. The analysis involved a series of comparisons between the ethnic compositions of adjacent charter and public schools in Arizona's most populated region and its rural towns. This methodology differed from the approach of many evaluations of charter schools and ethnic stratification in that it incorporated the use of geographic maps to compare schools' ethnic make-ups. The ethnic compositions of 55 urban and 57 rural charter schools were inspected relative to their traditional public school neighbors.

Choice without Equity: Charter School Segregation

“…As discussed earlier, previous studies at the district and school level have shown that when examined in terms of their local contexts (comparing the racial enrollments of charter schools to that of the surrounding public school district or the closest public school), charter schools are less racially diverse than local public schools and districts (Ascher, Jacobwitz, & McBride, 1999;Cobb & Glass, 1999;Wells, et al, 2000). We recognize that the context of where schools are situated locally, educational funding incentives, and how districts chartering agencies choose to interpret state charter legislation are important considerations that likely influence segregation outcomes.…”

Parental preferences in the choice for a specialty school

“…However, some authors have found that charter schools increase racial segregation (Bifulco & Ladd, 2007) and the potential to further stratify schools along racial and socioeconomic profiles, allowing a mechanism to escape racial integration (Cobb & Glass, 1999). Sohoni and Saporito (2009) examine levels of racial segregation in private, charter, and magnet schools.…”

What Can We Learn from Charter School Lotteries?

“…Critics argued that charters would drain public resources away from traditional schools and raised concerns that higher-ability students, white students, and students without special needs would disproportionately shift out of the traditional public school system (Frankenberg and Lee 2003;Fiske and Ladd 2000;Cobb and Glass 1999). The sentiment among Minnesota's Governor and many state politicians, however, was that the idea was at least worth trying, and an amended bill capping the program at eight schools and making districts the only sponsors narrowly passed in 1991 (Kolderie 1998).…”