Exploring the Relationship Between District Income Segregation and Achievement in Pennsylvania

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 60
  In Roundtable Session: District Research Roundtable

Abstract

Income segregation has been studied to have detrimental effects on academic achievement and opportunities for low income families (Duncan, G. J., & Murnane, R. J. 2014). Observing income segregation on a school and district level raises questions to the degree of income segregation’s effect on representative variables for both income and achievement. In our study of 2,162 schools embedded within 491 districts in Pennsylvania, we investigated the relationships between proxy variables and inequality indices for income and achievement using path and multilevel models, and the moderating effect of district income inequality on school achievement outcomes. Preliminary findings indicate a positive relationship between district income and achievement inequality measures and a negative relationship between district income inequality and average school achievement.

Authors

• Michael Reid Jr., University of Connecticut - Storrs

• Michael Shane Tutwiler, University of Rhode Island

• D. Betsy Mccoach, University of Connecticut

• Rashea Hamilton, University of Connecticut - Storrs