The Brookings Institution

School segregation has returned to the front burner of public and political debate. Against the backdrop of police shootings and civic unrest in many U.S. cities, concerns about the role of public education in terms of race relations and segregation have grown.

In that context, this report compares various measures of school segregation and reviews research findings on the extent of school segregation, trends in school segregation over time, and the relationship between academic achievement and segregation by income and race. The role of school quality in mediating and moderating the associations between school segregation and academic achievement is examined through observational and experimental research findings. Research on charter schools receives particular attention.
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