Disparity in Academic Achievement Between Black and White Students in the Wake County Public School System of North Carolina

Abstract

Since the desegregation of public schools in the 1950s, studies have been conducted to determine why Blacks lag behind Whites academically. Efforts to understand the racial disparities in school performance continue, and some studies indicate this may be due to neighborhood differences. Although this is not a topic that has been researched in depth, this paper will examine the effects neighborhood of residence and neighborhood of school have on student performance. The data for over 22,000 students are examined.