Demographic Analysis on Students’ Access to Charter Schools in Chicago

• In Event: 2484 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 11. Issues in School Choice

Abstract

In the United States, charter schools are set up as another means of schooling for students beyond public schools and private schools. Charter schools are unique because they provide independent curriculum and maintain small class sizes as in private schools, while still remaining tuition free like public schools. Thus, socially disadvantaged families can explore charter schools as an option for their children. For charter schools, previous studies have only suggested that students would like to choose a charter school close to their home (Jacobs, 2013). However, there is a lack of quantitative analysis about whether students from different race and class demographics have equal access to charter school resources. Also, existing literature does not look specifically at the Chicago charter school system. This study examines the association between the demographics of charter school students and neighborhood demographic characteristics. The results of this study indicate the information about how neighborhood demographics could predict the charter school demographics. Also, the results show the information about the accessibility of the charter school for students from different racial categories.

Authors

• Qingyu Bu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Ruby Mendenhall, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign