A Think Twice Review of:

The Integration Anomaly: Comparing the Effects of K-12 Education Delivery Models on Segregation in Schools

Think Twice - Jan 05, 2016

Publisher/Think Tank - Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice

Author(s) - Benjamin Scafidi

A report from the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice claimed that universal school choice offers a solution to increasing school segregation. The report argued that competition unleashed by unrestricted school choice would promote integration. The report suggested that housing integration has not been an effective way to pursue school integration, and it concludes with recommendations for how to structure school choice to achieve integration.

Reviewer(s) - Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Virginia Commonwealth University; & Erica Frankenberg, Penn State University

An academic review of the report from Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Erica Frankenberg, an associate professor at Penn State University finds that the arguments are not based on evidence. The reviewers further find that the analysis of the empirical relationship between school and residential segregation relies on flawed methodological decisions with regard to how to define segregation and divergent trends over time. Those problematic definitions, in turn, yield biased results and prompt the reader to incorrectly assume that housing integration policies will have little bearing on school segregation. Siegel-Hawley and Frankenberg also point out that the report’s use of research literature on school choice is haphazard and incomplete, drawing conclusions either beyond what the research supports or contrary to what research has found.