Majority African American Schools and Social Injustice: The Influence of De Facto Segregation on Academic Achievement

Abstract

The research reported here proceeds on the premise that if minority race and its predominance in particular schools constitutes a disadvantage in the educational system, then members of the privileged group will tend to place their children in schools that avoid the supposed liability of minority concentration, and thereby perpetuate inequality. We draw upon the remarks of James Coleman, who posited that intangible resources are concentrated in the schools of the privileged group, and are lacking in the schools with a high concentration of minorities. In this research, we examine whether the racial composition of schools has an influence on individual achievement, controlling for the race of individuals. Our findings are that the degree of minority concentration has a powerful negative influence on achievement test results, that this influence does not appear to be explained by socioeconomic factors or other factors, and that both whites and African Americans are negatively affected by degree of minority concentration.