Century Foundation Study Finds Socioeconomic Integration Helps Narrow Achievement Gaps
School districts and charter schools across the country increasingly are pursuing socioeconomic integration, with data on those efforts suggesting positive outcomes for both low- and middle-income students, a report from the Century Foundation finds.
According to the report, "School Integration in Practice: Lessons from Nine Districts" (61 pages, PDF), the number of districts and charter schools with programs that promote economic and racial diversity as a way of fostering social mobility and cohesion has more than doubled, to a hundred, since 2007.
Based on nine case studies of implementation efforts in public schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Champaign and Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Hartford and Stamford, Connecticut; Jefferson County, Kentucky; and New York City, the report found that when socioeconomic diversity policies are implemented effectively, they appear to produce strong academic outcomes and better prepare students for living in a diverse society...