Redlining in Texas and Present-Day Educational Opportunity: A Geospatial Analysis

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Constructing and Challenging Borders in Educational Theory and Practice

Abstract

This study explores the spatial relationship between historical redlining in Texas and present-day educational outcomes. Despite the outlawing of housing discrimination in 1968 in the United States, racial inequalities continue to persist in formerly redlined neighborhoods. I construct a unique geographic dataset from Home Owners’ Loan Corporation maps, elementary attendance zones, and student and school characteristics for 200 Texas elementary schools. Using a Critical Race Spatial Analysis as the theoretical perspective and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), I examine the relationship between the boundaries in historically redlined neighborhoods and Texas 3rd grade reading test scores. Results from geospatial mapping, descriptive analyses, and regression suggests a statistically significant negative association between elementary schools located in historically redlined areas and present-day educational outcomes.

Author

• Matthew J. Farmer, American Institutes for Research