The Carrot or the Stick for School Desegregation Policy

This is the first study comparing the long-term effectiveness of voluntary desegregation plans with magnet programs to mandatory reassignment plans. In a survey of school personnel and parents in 119 school districts, Christine H. Rossell finds that the voluntary plans with incentives (magnets) ultimately produce more interracial exposure than the mandatory plans. Her conclusion contradicts three decades of research that judged mandatory reassignment plans more effective than voluntary plans in desegregating schools.Rossell examines the evolution of school desegregation and addresses a number of issues with regard to public policy. She questions how to measure the effectiveness of school desegregation remedies, suggesting interracial exposure as a criterion because it reflects the white flight that threatens to minimize the effects of such programs. She analyzes the characteristics of magnet schools that are attractive to white and black parents and the effect of magnet schools on the quality of education.The magnet plans studied here are qualitatively different from the old freedom-of-choice plans implemented in the South and majority-to-minority plans implemented in the North in the 1950s and 1960s. Rossell compares this public choice model of policy-making with previous mandatory efforts and examines court decisions that indicate a growing belief in the effectiveness of voluntary compliance for achieving school desegregation. Author note: Christine H. Rossell is Professor of Political Science at Boston University and the co-editor of The Consequences of School Desegregation (Temple).

Preface1. The Past and the Future of School Desegregation RemediesThe Evolution of School Desegregation Remedies -Attitudes Toward Desegregation -Self-Interest and Compliance -The Public Choice Model -Magnet School Plans -Departures from Past Research -Outline of Chapters>p>2. Defining School Desegregation and Its GoalThe Effect of Interracial Exposure on Minority Children -The Measurement of Interracial Exposure>p>3. A Comparison of Voluntary and Mandatory Desegregation PlansSampling Criteria -Classifying Plans into Magnet-Voluntary and Magnet-Mandatory -Community Characteristics -Magnet Programs -White Flight -Interracial Exposure -Racial Imbalance -Racially Identifiable Schools -Matched Pairs -Net Benefit -Dismantling Mandatory Plans -Conclusions>p>4. What Is Attractive About Magnet Schools?The Literature -Location and Percentage of Minority Pupils -Curriculum -Pupil-Teacher Ratios -Physical Appearance -Distance -Educational Benefits -Magnet Success in 20 School Districts -Indicators of Success -The Cost of Magnet Schools -Conclusions>p>5. What Have School Desegregation Plans Accomplished?Enrollment Trends -Desegregation Assessment Measures -Interracial Exposure -Racial Imbalance: The Index of Dissimilarity -The Percentage of Students in Desegregated Schools -The Percentage of Minority Students in White and Minority Schools -Big City School Desegregation -Conclusions>p>6. Conclusions and RecommendationsMetropolitan Plans -Policy Recommendations -Controlled Choice -Costs -Equity, Efficiency, and Effectiveness -Ranking by Three Criteria -Models of Policymaking>p>NotesReferencesIndexIndex of Court Cases