Educational Integration - Brief Article

School Administrator, Nov, 2000

Students who attend desegregated high schools in metropolitan areas tend to enjoy greater educational advantages than students in racially isolated schools, according to a study by the Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota Law School.

None of the 10 schools involved in the project could justifiably be called "integrated," the researchers said, given the lack of racially diverse classrooms, multicultural curricula and voluntary student integration during free time.

In desegregated schools, students of color generally scored higher on standardized tests and were more likely to attend college than students of color in segregated schools. The study also reported that close interracial friendships were rare, but positive interracial relations were not uncommon even outside school.

The study, "Student Voices Across the Spectrum: Educational Integration initiatives Project," examined high schools in Chicago, Cleveland, Louisville, Ky., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn., San Francisco and Washington, D.C.