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Race and Magnet School Choice: A Mixed-Methods Neighborhood Study in Urban Connecticut. Jesse Wanzer, Heather Moore, and Jack Dougherty Cities, Suburbs, and Schools Research Project at Trinity College, Hartford CT http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/educ/css. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Race and Magnet School Choice: A Mixed-Methods Neighborhood
Study in Urban Connecticut
Jesse Wanzer, Heather Moore, and Jack DoughertyCities, Suburbs, and Schools Research Project
at Trinity College, Hartford CThttp://www.trincoll.edu/depts/educ/css
What questions can be asked with these types of data?
Part 1: Quantitative Research Questions
1) School quality: What is the relationship between magnet application rates and standardized test scores, for both the neighborhood schools and the magnet schools?
2) Geography: How do magnet schools vary in their level of
“magnetism,” meaning the average distance they attract applicants?
3) Neighborhood race: How do magnet applicant rates vary across neighborhoods, and are they statistically representative of the racial demographics of each area?
Part 2: Qualitative Research Questions
4) Neighborhood rate: How do Hartford parental rationales on magnet school choice vary in neighborhoods with high versus low magnet applicant rates?
5) Parental race: How Hartford parental rationales on magnet
school choice vary by race?
Pooled data from over
4,000 applications
to 6 HPS elementary magnets in Spring 2007
lottery
Includes student race,
address, magnet
preferences
Part 1: Methodology -- Data
Geographic Information System software (like ArcGIS) allows one to conduct spatial analysis of demographic patterns in magnet school applications or enrollments
Part 1: Methodology -- GIS
Link data to street map
Part 1: Methodology -- Geocoding
Geocode street address data as individual points
on map
Part 1: Methodology -- Geocoding
Overlay neighborhood boundary lines(census tracts,
elementary school zones, etc)
Part 1: Methodology -- Geocoding
Use colors to represent data groups
Zone BZone A
Part 1: Methodology -- Geocoding
Part 1: Methodology -- Geocoding
RQ 1) Magnet applicants driven by School Quality? Relation of CMT Scores to Elementary Magnet Schools
R2 = 0.420
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0
Average Percent of 4th Graders Scoring at Proficient Level on CMTs
Total Number of Applications
Modest “Pull” relationship toward
high-scoring magnets
RQ 1) Magnet applicants driven by School Quality? Relation of CMT Scores to Elementary Magnet Schools
R2 = 0.420
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0
Average Percent of 4th Graders Scoring at Proficient Level on CMTs
Total Number of Applications
Modest “Pull” relationship toward
high-scoring magnets
Relation of Magnet Applications and CMT Scores
R2 = 0.1894
0
5
10
15
20
25
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0
Average Percentage of 4th Graders Scoring at Goal Level on CMTs
Applications per School Zone Enrollment
Weak “Push” relationship away from
low-scoring neighborhood schools
Magnet School Average Distance (miles)
Simpson-Waverly 1.9
Mary Hooker 2.8
Noah Webster 2.9
Breakthrough 3.1
Annie Fisher 3.2
Kinsella 3.2
RQ 2) Magnet applicants driven by Geography?
Wide variation across small city suggests that parents are not simply
choosing a magnet based solely on
geographical convenience of location
3) Magnet applicants driven by Neighborhood Race?
Hartford Public Schools: 41% Black (mostly North End) and 52% Hispanic (mostly South End)
3) Magnet applicants driven by Neighborhood Race?
Chi-square analysis comparing expected applicants (based on neighborhood racial composition) to observed
3) Magnet applicants driven by Neighborhood Race?
In about half of the city’s neighborhoods, Black students statistically more likely to apply if they were a racial minority (relative to Hispanics); similarly, Hispanics less likely to apply when they were the racial majority (relative to Blacks)
Part 2: Qualitative Research Questions
4) Neighborhood rate: How do Hartford parental rationales on magnet school choice vary in neighborhoods with high versus low magnet applicant rates?
5) Parental race: How Hartford parental rationales on magnet
school choice vary by race?
Part 2: Methodology -- Interview Design
Door-to-door interviews with parents of school-age children in four neighborhoods– 2 high-rate of magnet
applicants – 2 low-rate of magnet
applicants
– Current school and whether applied to magnet
– Perceptions of neighborhood school and magnet schools
– Demographics
Part 2: Methodology -- Interview Design
Part 2: Methodology -- Interview SampleTable 13: Parent Interviews by Neighborhood Type and Chooser Status
High-rate magnet applicant neighborhood
Low-rate magnet applicant neighborhood
Total
Choosers 5 7Non-choosers 5 16Others (applied and enrolled in magnets in previous years)
2 1
Total 12 24 36
Table 14: Interviews by Race of the ChildBlack 14Hispanic 14White 5Multi-racial 2Asian 1
RQ 4) Parental Rationale & Neighborhood Magnet Rates?
No meaningful differences between parents’ views on schools in high- versus low-rate neighborhoods
RQ 4) Parental Rationale & Neighborhood Magnet Rates?
No meaningful differences between parents’ views on schools in high- versus low-rate neighborhoods
• Choosers expressed similar rates of “pull” motivations in both types of neighborhoods
“My niece goes to Hartford Magnet Middle School and it has a good reputation”
-Chooser from low-rate area
“The information that I got was that the curriculum was different, and they provide more programs for the children.”
-Chooser from high-rate area
RQ 4) Parental Rationale & Neighborhood Magnet Rates?
No meaningful differences between parents’ views on schools in high- versus low-rate neighborhoods
• Non-choosers expressed similar rates of satisfaction with current school in both types of neighborhoods
“They are doing so well. When you got a good thing going, why change it?”
-Non-chooser from low-rate area
“My kids are doing good there. Most of their teachers were my teachers. They take care of them.”
-Non-chooser from high-rate area
Racial differences in talking about magnet choices
RQ 5) Parental Rationale & Race?
Racial differences in talking about magnet choices
RQ 5) Parental Rationale & Race?
Over half of white families rejected all Hartford Public Schools:
“Never thought of it. I just knew I was never sending them to a Hartford school”
“[My children] have always had a Catholic school education.”
Racial differences in talking about magnet choices
RQ 5) Parental Rationale & Race?
Over half of white families rejected all Hartford Public Schools:
“Never thought of it. I just knew I was never sending them to a Hartford school”
“[My children] have always had a Catholic school education.”
None of the 31 non-white families followed this pattern
Instead, close to half of African-American parents constructively criticized their neighborhood school:
“There isn’t much that they do with them to make them really think and focus. So I’m just trying to find something that will challenge them more and get better grades.”
Conclusion:
Our mixed-methods neighborhood-level analysis emphasizes how race influences the magnet school choice process. Based on our small-scale study, it is possible that magnet schools may not be reducing racial isolation, as originally designed.
http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/educ/css