Working Paper: NBER ID: w8741
Authors: Eric A. Hanushek; John F. Kain; Steven G. Rivkin
Abstract: Uncovering the effects of school racial composition on achievement is difficult, because racial mixing in the schools is not an accident but instead represents a complex mixture of government and family choices. While the goals of the integration of schools legally inspired by Brown v. Board of Education are very broad, here we focus more narrowly on how school racial composition effects scholastic achievement. Our evaluation, made possible by rich panel data on the achievement of Texas students, disentangles racial composition effects from other aspects of school quality and from differences in student abilities and family background. The results show that a higher percentage of Black schoolmates has a strong adverse effect on achievement of Blacks and, moreover, that the effects are highly concentrated in the upper half of the ability distribution. In contrast, racial composition has a noticeably smaller effect on achievement of lower ability blacks, of whites, and of Hispanics -- strongly suggesting that the results are not a simple reflection of unmeasured school quality.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I2; H4
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| higher percentage of black schoolmates (I24) | lower academic achievement of black students (I24) |
| higher percentage of black schoolmates (I24) | lower academic achievement of higher ability black students (I24) |
| racial composition does not serve as a proxy for general school or teacher quality (I24) | negative peer effects for black students (I24) |
| higher ability black students (I24) | more pronounced negative effects of racial composition on achievement (I24) |