School Choice and Stratification in High-Poverty and Racially Isolated Contexts: A Mixed-Methods Study in Detroit

• In Event: New Directions in School Choice Research: Mechanisms, Processes, and Interactions

Abstract

In high-poverty and racially isolated contexts, do schools of choice serve relatively-advantaged students? Critical scholars have theorized that schools of choice have incentive to enroll demographically similar but relatively-advantaged students (Lubienski et al., 2021; Wells et al., 2019), which would create new inequalities among low-income and racially minoritized students while failing to reduce broader racial and socioeconomic inequalities. Yet, quantitative research has relied on inadequate measures of socioeconomic status (SES) (Hamlin, 2018); qualitative research has tended to focus on differences between racial or class groups rather than within them (Pattillo et al., 2014); and popular narratives have tended to sentimentalize and homogenize the lives of low-income and racially minoritized students, glossing over differences among them (Dumas, 2013; Jabbar et al., 2022).

I study stratified enrollment patterns by SES in Detroit, where 80% of students are Black and 10% are Hispanic, over 90% are identified as “economically disadvantaged”, and less than 50% attend a neighborhood public school. My research questions are: (1) To what extent are Detroit students socioeconomically stratified between neighborhood public schools, magnet schools, and charter schools? (2) What family, school, and contextual factors explain socioeconomically stratified enrollment patterns among Detroit students? Theoretically, I integrate research from multiple disciplines and on multiple dimensions of school choice, to comprehensively address enrollment and stratification dynamics in marketized school systems. Methodologically, I use an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design (Hewitt & Mansfield, 2020). First, I use robust SES measures from a representative survey along with enrollment records from administrative data to describe the extent to which Detroit students are stratified by relative socioeconomic advantages. Second, I use interviews with parents and with school and district leaders to explain these enrollment patterns.

My survey data show that charters have higher average family incomes than neighborhood schools, driven by significantly fewer students in “deep poverty” (31% in charters vs. 49% in neighborhood schools). Magnet schools enroll a distinctly advantaged population—much higher family incomes, parental education levels, and parental occupational prestige levels. Interviews reveal several explanations, including differences by SES in geographic constraints, social networks, and impressions of different schools or school types. These results identify an important way that school choice impacts students and schools in high-poverty and racially isolated contexts. With SES differences among low-income and racially minoritized families, school choice can lead to stratified enrollment. School siting, school capacity, and transportation policies may be more important for addressing inequality in marketized school systems than unified enrollment and information interventions, which have received greater attention. The study has implications for evaluating school choice and other educational policies in high-poverty and racially isolated contexts. Reformers have promoted market-based policy solutions for low-income and racially minoritized students in lieu of remedying segregation or making substantive investments (Scott & Holme, 2016). Yet, the educational experiences, opportunities, and outcomes of these students are misrepresented without attention to differences among them.

Author

• Jeremy L. Singer, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author