Student Stratification among a Combination of School Choice Policies in Detroit. Issue 1 (2nd January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Singer, Jeremy
• Is Part Of: Journal of school choice. Volume 14:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 122
• Page End: 153
• Publication Date: 2020-01-02
• Subjects: Stratification -- urban education -- school choice -- socio-spatial analysis; School choice -- United States -- Periodicals; School choice; United States; Periodicals; 370
• DOI: 10.1080/15582159.2019.1689467
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1558-2159

Abstract

ABSTRACT: A large body of research on school choice has examined whether choice-based policies reproduce and exacerbate existing racial and socioeconomic inequalities. While many states have enacted multiple school choice policies at once, most of these studies focus on a single choice-based policy. This study examines enrollment patterns in Detroit in the context of a combination of school choice policies: charter schools, intra-district choice, and inter-district open enrollment. It assesses the extent to which Detroit students are stratified by race, socioeconomic status, and special education status, and describes how different socio-spatial push and pull factors may be associated with different options for school choice. Even among Detroit's racially and socioeconomically homogeneous student population, the results show some evidence of a stratified educational landscape, and suggest the need for more research on how a combination of choice mechanisms may be taken up differently by different students and families.