Anonymous wrote:Here's what the ACTUAL paper said:

Parents trade off school demographics and academic performance with distance when choosing schools.

Parents tend to prefer schools where their children have at least some peers of the same race or ethnicity, but some parents also prefer a diverse school to a homogeneous one.

Preferences vary by race, income, and grade level.

Simulations suggest that parent preferences, if allowed to dominate school assignment (with no capacity constraints), translate into more racial and economic integration and higher enrollment in high-performing schools.

https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/our-publications-and-findings/publications/market-signals-evidence-on-the-determinants-and-consequences-of-school-choice-from-a-citywide

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is natural for anyone- don't you want your kid to go to a school where there's a sizable population of kids of their same race? All things being equal? I think any parent - black, white, etc., would choose that.

Uh no, it's not "natural." That is kind of the point of the whole study: attitudes towards race in school differ depending on race. White parents are less willing to send their kids to schools where they will be a minority than black parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read the study itself, but the slate article hones in on a key issue - the desire of mostly white high-SES families to choose schools based on race even against with comparable test scores with fewer white students:

This quote from the slate article is fascinating, and I think reflects well what we see discussed in this forum:

"Across race and class, a middle-school parent was 12 percent more likely to choose a school where his child’s race made up 20 percent of the study body, compared with a school with similar test scores where his child’s race made up only 10 percent of the study body. White and higher-income applicants had the strongest preferences for their children to remain in-group, while black elementary school parents were essentially 'indifferent' to a school’s racial makeup, the researchers found. The findings for Hispanic elementary and middle school parents were not statistically significant."

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2016/07/when_white_parents_have_a_choice_they_choose_segregated_schools.html

I just read the Slate article and found it interesting, but when I followed up by reading the actual study, it seems to offer far more nuanced, and frankly different, conclusions than what the Slate writer suggests. I generally respect Slate's coverage, but I think the writer here might've let her desire for a popular narrative bias her reading of the actual study results. Also, if you're generally familiar with the quality/location/reputation of DC's public schools and its lottery process, it's not hard to read between the lines of the study and know which specific schools were driving the results. With that context in mind, the Slate writer's mistaken slant appears even more noticeable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read the study itself, but the slate article hones in on a key issue - the desire of mostly white high-SES families to choose schools based on race even against with comparable test scores with fewer white students:

This quote from the slate article is fascinating, and I think reflects well what we see discussed in this forum:

"Across race and class, a middle-school parent was 12 percent more likely to choose a school where his child’s race made up 20 percent of the study body, compared with a school with similar test scores where his child’s race made up only 10 percent of the study body. White and higher-income applicants had the strongest preferences for their children to remain in-group, while black elementary school parents were essentially 'indifferent' to a school’s racial makeup, the researchers found. The findings for Hispanic elementary and middle school parents were not statistically significant."

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2016/07/when_white_parents_have_a_choice_they_choose_segregated_schools.html

I just read the Slate article and found it interesting, but when I followed up by reading the actual study, it seems to offer far more nuanced, and frankly different, conclusions than what the Slate writer suggests. I generally respect Slate's coverage, but I think the writer here might've let her desire for a popular narrative bias her reading of the actual study results. Also, if you're generally familiar with the quality/location/reputation of DC's public schools and its lottery process, it's not hard to read between the lines of the study and know which specific schools were driving the results. With that context in mind, the Slate writer's mistaken slant appears even more noticeable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is natural for anyone- don't you want your kid to go to a school where there's a sizable population of kids of their same race? All things being equal? I think any parent - black, white, etc., would choose that.

Good point. You're not a racist for not wanting your child to be a "lonely only." If only 10% of the school is your child's race, then in a class of 18 students, there's only 8/10ths of another child that looks like him.

Meanwhile, as everyone on DCUM knows, KIPP is supposed to have good test scores, but it's also a "drill and kill." In fact, most of the majority minority schools with good scores are "drill and kills" and upper SES families don't want that.

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read the study itself, but the slate article hones in on a key issue - the desire of mostly white high-SES families to choose schools based on race even against with comparable test scores with fewer white students:

This quote from the slate article is fascinating, and I think reflects well what we see discussed in this forum:

"Across race and class, a middle-school parent was 12 percent more likely to choose a school where his child’s race made up 20 percent of the study body, compared with a school with similar test scores where his child’s race made up only 10 percent of the study body. White and higher-income applicants had the strongest preferences for their children to remain in-group, while black elementary school parents were essentially 'indifferent' to a school’s racial makeup, the researchers found. The findings for Hispanic elementary and middle school parents were not statistically significant."

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2016/07/when_white_parents_have_a_choice_they_choose_segregated_schools.html

Anonymous wrote:I think this is natural for anyone- don't you want your kid to go to a school where there's a sizable population of kids of their same race? All things being equal? I think any parent - black, white, etc., would choose that.

Anonymous wrote:I think this is natural for anyone- don't you want your kid to go to a school where there's a sizable population of kids of their same race? All things being equal? I think any parent - black, white, etc., would choose that.

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read the study itself, but the slate article hones in on a key issue - the desire of mostly white high-SES families to choose schools based on race even against with comparable test scores with fewer white students:

This quote from the slate article is fascinating, and I think reflects well what we see discussed in this forum:

"Across race and class, a middle-school parent was 12 percent more likely to choose a school where his child’s race made up 20 percent of the study body, compared with a school with similar test scores where his child’s race made up only 10 percent of the study body. White and higher-income applicants had the strongest preferences for their children to remain in-group, while black elementary school parents were essentially 'indifferent' to a school’s racial makeup, the researchers found. The findings for Hispanic elementary and middle school parents were not statistically significant."

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2016/07/when_white_parents_have_a_choice_they_choose_segregated_schools.html