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24 Sep 2015
Report

School Composition and the Black-White Achievement Gap

George Bohrnstedt, Sami Kitmitto, Burhan Ogut, Daniel Sherman, and D. Chan

black and white students taking a testThe Black–White achievement gap has often been studied, but its relationship to school composition has generally not been explored. The demographic makeup of public schools is of particular interest, given recent concerns about the growing resegregation of schools. This report explored eighth-grade achievement as it relates to the percentage of students in the school who were Black, or the density of Black students, to contribute to the understanding of the Black–White student achievement gap. The data used to explore these relationships came primarily from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2011 Mathematics Grade 8 Assessment but also from the Common Core of Data for 2010–11, which provided additional school characteristics.

Analysis of the relationship between the percentage of students in a school who were Black and achievement showed the following:

  • Achievement for both Black and White students was lower in the highest Black student density schools than in the lowest density schools.
  • However, the achievement gap was not different.

However, when accounting for factors such as student socioeconomic status (SES) and other student, teacher, and school characteristics, the analysis found:

  • White student achievement in schools with the highest Black student density did not differ from White student achievement in schools with the lowest density.
  • For Black students overall, and Black males in particular, achievement was still lower in the highest density schools than in the lowest density schools.
  • The Black–White achievement gap was larger in the highest density schools than in the lowest density schools.
  • Conducting analysis by gender, the Black–White achievement gap was larger in the highest density schools than in the lowest density schools for males but not for females.
PDF icon School Composition and the Black-White Achievement Gap (PDF)
PDF icon Methodology Companion (PDF)

Related Projects

Project

NAEP Achievement Gaps

Working with the National Center for Education Statistics, AIR produces reports analyzing the achievement gaps in student performance by race/ethnicity in an ongoing project. Two reports have been published, comparing the performance of Black and White and Hispanic and White students respectively, and a third is underway.

Related Work

24 Sep 2015
News Release

Amid Signs of Growing Resegregation, Black Student Scores Were Lower, and Achievement Gaps Were Wider, in Mostly Black Schools, NCES Study Finds

Schools with the highest percentage of black students have the lowest black student achievement test scores, particularly among black males, and the widest achievement gaps between blacks and whites, a new federal study finds. The study, conducted for the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics by AIR, offers a new take on the stubborn black-white achievement gap. Examining the performance of nearly 100,000 8th graders on the mathematics portion of the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress, the study found a wide disparity in average racial composition in the nation’s schools.
2 Jun 2014
Video

LSS-Darren Woodruff -690 x 492.jpg

Darren Woodruff

Long Story Short: How Can Schools Help Reduce the Achievement Gap?

Disparities persist in educational achievement for students of color and low-income students. In this video interview, Darren Woodruff, principal researcher at AIR, explains how schools can create a climate to help reduce the achievement gap and help all students learn.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement, Equity in Education
13 Jul 2009
Report

Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Math and Reading

Detailed information on the size of the achievement gaps between Black and White students at both the national and state level and how those achievement gaps have changed over time.

Topic: 
Mathematics Education, NAEP

Further Reading

  • Infographic: The Black-White Achievement Gap and NAEP Scores
  • Infographic: The Black-White Achievement Gap and Student Populations by Locale
  • Infographic Series: School Composition and the Black-White Achievement Gap
  • Infographic: The Black-White Achievement Gap and Student Populations by Region
  • Infographic: The Black-White Achievement Gap for Girls and Boys
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Image of George Bohrnstedt

George Bohrnstedt

Senior Vice President and Institute Fellow

Sami Kitmitto

Principal Researcher

Topic

Education
NAEP

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