The Geography of Inequality: Why Separate Means Unequal in American Public Schools

• Published in: Sociology of education Vol. 85; no. 3; pp. 287 - 301
• Main Authors: Logan, John R., Minca, Elisabeta, Adar, Sinem
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA American Sociological Association 01.07.2012; Sage; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Achievement Rating; Achievement tests; African American Students; Asian students; Black students; Children; Children & youth; Comparative Analysis; Comparative Testing; Cultures and civilizations; Disadvantaged; Educational Policy; Educational Sociology; Elementary schools; Equal Education; Ethnic relations. Racism; Geographic Distribution; Geographic Location; Geography; High schools; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic students; Hispanics; Inequality; Institutional Characteristics; Kindergarten students; Middle schools; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority Group Students; Minority students; Native Americans; No Child Left Behind Act 2001-US; Outcomes of Education; Politics of Education; Poverty; Profiles; Public Schools; Racial Composition; Racial Differences; Racial Segregation; Schematic Studies; School boards; School Desegregation; School Districts; School Effectiveness; School Segregation; Schools; Scores; Segregation; Social Justice; Sociology; Sociology of education. Educational systems. Lifelong education; Standardized Tests; Students; Studies; Suburban schools; Test scores; Urban Schools; White people; United States Of America; inequality; performance; race; Hispanic; geography; Native American; Racial Segregation; School performance
• DOI: 10.1177/0038040711431588
• ISSN: 0038-0407

Persistent school segregation means not only that children of different racial and ethnic backgrounds attend different schools but also that their schools are unequal in performance. This study documents the extent of disparities nationally in school performance between schools attended by whites and Asians compared with those attended by blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. It further examines the geography of school inequality in two ways. First, it analyzes the segregation of students between different types of school profiles based on racial composition, poverty, and metropolitan location. Second, it estimates the independent effects of these and other school and school district characteristics on school performance, identifying which aspects of school segregation are the most important sources of disadvantage. A focus on schools at the bottom of the distribution, as in No Schools Left Behind, would not ameliorate wide disparities between groups that are found across the whole spectrum of school performance.