http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17521


Opponents of parental choice in education argue that school choice
increases
racial segregation. But a new review of the research evidence suggests
that
giving parents the freedom to choose their children's schools has actually
increased racial integration.

More than fifty years have passed since Brown v. Board of Education
outlawed
racial segregation in American public schools. Many policies, including
school busing, were implemented to promote integration in public education
in the decades that followed. Yet many American public schools remain
segregated along racial lines.

Even with years of improvement in race relations, this result shouldn't be
a
surprise. The public school system assigns students to schools based on
where they live, which means that a public school is only as diverse as
its
community. The combination of segregated housing patterns and
location-based
school assignment has created an environment in which millions of children
attend largely segregated public schools.

But not all schools are stuck. In a new report from the Milton and Rose D.
Friedman Foundation, Dr. Greg Forester reviews the research on school
choice
and integration and concludes that school choice improves school
diversity.
He also explains why the "claims made by voucher opponents [about racial
segregation] are empirically unsupportable" in two specific ways.

First, empirical research finds "no substantial difference between
segregation levels in public and private schools." Instead, "at the
classroom level, a preferable level of analysis, the research indicates
that
private schools actually are less segregated than public schools." And
"even
at the school level, the research finds no substantial difference between
public and private schools."

Second, school voucher programs do not lead to segregation. In fact, the
opposite is true. In Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C., voucher
students' private schools are more racially integrated than the public
schools the students would otherwise have attended.

Consider the Washington, D.C., opportunity scholarship program, created by
Congress in 2004. Jay Greene and Marcus Winters of the University of
Arkansas found that voucher students' private schools were more integrated
than their peers' public schools. As Forester explains, they found that
"85
percent of public school students attend racially homogenous schools (more
than 90 percent white or 90 percent minority), compared to 47 percent of
students in participating private schools."

Forester's analysis is another reason to support policies that give
parents
the ability to choose their children's schools. And his conclusions are
good
reason to be optimistic about society's progress on racial integration
over
the past fifty years. According to the best research, school voucher
programs in urban communities lead to greater integration than the current
public school system. What the Supreme Court sought to accomplish more
than
a generation ago with mandates on public education, today is happening
through a system of voluntary choice.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=3D17521


Opponents of parental choice in education argue that school choice increa=

racial segregation. But a new review of the research evidence suggests th=

giving parents the freedom to choose their children's schools has actually
increased racial integration.

More than fifty years have passed since Brown v. Board of Education outla=

racial segregation in American public schools. Many policies, including
school busing, were implemented to promote integration in public education
in the decades that followed. Yet many American public schools remain
segregated along racial lines.

Even with years of improvement in race relations, this result shouldn't b=

surprise. The public school system assigns students to schools based on
where they live, which means that a public school is only as diverse as i=

community. The combination of segregated housing patterns and location-ba=

school assignment has created an environment in which millions of children
attend largely segregated public schools.

But not all schools are stuck. In a new report from the Milton and Rose D.
Friedman Foundation, Dr. Greg Forester reviews the research on school cho=

and integration and concludes that school choice improves school diversit=

He also explains why the "claims made by voucher opponents [about racial
segregation] are empirically unsupportable" in two specific ways.

First, empirical research finds "no substantial difference between
segregation levels in public and private schools." Instead, "at the
classroom level, a preferable level of analysis, the research indicates t=

private schools actually are less segregated than public schools." And "e=

at the school level, the research finds no substantial difference between
public and private schools."

Second, school voucher programs do not lead to segregation. In fact, the
opposite is true. In Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C., voucher
students' private schools are more racially integrated than the public
schools the students would otherwise have attended.

Consider the Washington, D.C., opportunity scholarship program, created by
Congress in 2004. Jay Greene and Marcus Winters of the University of
Arkansas found that voucher students' private schools were more integrated
than their peers' public schools. As Forester explains, they found that "=

percent of public school students attend racially homogenous schools (more
than 90 percent white or 90 percent minority), compared to 47 percent of
students in participating private schools."

Forester's analysis is another reason to support policies that give paren=

the ability to choose their children's schools. And his conclusions are g=

reason to be optimistic about society's progress on racial integration ov=

the past fifty years. According to the best research, school voucher
programs in urban communities lead to greater integration than the current
public school system. What the Supreme Court sought to accomplish more th=

a generation ago with mandates on public education, today is happening
through a system of voluntary choice.




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J Y=F6ung
youngopinions@aol.com