Effective School Districts for Black Students: National Insights With Implications for Policy and Practice

• In Event: Leveraging the Power of Identity

Abstract

I used hierarchical linear modeling and population data from the Stanford Education Data Archive to answer the following research question: How much do districts vary with respect to the academic outcomes of the Black students they serve? I examined average district level Black student academic achievement (grade level achievement) and average district level Black student learning rate (the rate at which scores change across grades, within a student cohort) for Black students nationally. I found tremendous heterogeneity and developed a dual-axis model to categorize these districts by performance. Districts fell into one of four categories: Exemplary, Investment Opportunity, Wasted Opportunity, State of Emergency. Inclusion in a particular category may have implications for policy and practice and is discussed.

Author

• Darnell Leatherwood, University of Chicago
  Presenting Author