• DOI:10.1080/00098650209604939
• Corpus ID: 144406358

Magnet Schools: Reform and Race in Urban Education

@article{Goldring2002MagnetSR,
  title={Magnet Schools: Reform and Race in Urban Education},
  author={Ellen B. Goldring and Claire E. Smrekar},
  journal={The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas},
  year={2002},
  volume={76},
  pages={13 - 15}
}

• Ellen B. Goldring, Claire E. Smrekar
• Published 1 September 2002
• Education
• The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas

magnet gained popularity in the 1970s when policymakers were designing desegregation plans in an effort to make them more attractive to parents, educators, and students. Magnet schools were established to promote racial diversity, improve scholastic standards, and provide a range of programs to satisfy individual talents and interests. Since 1975, when federal courts accepted magnet schools as a method of desegregation in Morgan v. Kerrigan (421 US 963), their number has increased dramatically. By the 1991-92 school year, more than 1.2 million students were enrolled in magnet schools in 230 school districts (Yu and Taylor 1997). During the 1999-2000 school year there were more than 1,372 magnet schools across the United States. Magnet schools are typically established in urban school districts with enrollments of more than 10,000. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 53 percent of large urban districts include magnet school programs as part of their desegregation plans, as compared with only 10 percent of suburban districts. For example, in the City of Chicago Public School District, 45 percent of all public schools are magnets, serving 48 percent of the student population (NCES 2001). Over half of all magnet programs are located in low socioeconomic districts (Levine 1997). Although they can involve all grade levels, more than half of the nation's magnet programs serve elementary school students; onl 20 percent of magnets are at the high school level (Yu and Taylor 1997; Levine 1997). The most common type of magnet school is one that emphasizes a particular subject matter, such as math and science, computers and technology, or a foreign language. Other programs offer a unique instructional approach, such as Montessori or Paideia. Magnet school programs are extremely popular, as measured by the fact that in over 75 percent of all districts with magnets the demand for student slots is greater than the supply; half of these districts maintain long waiting lists (Blank, Levine, and Steel 1996). Most districts must manage the admissions process by using a lottery; others rely on a first-come, first-served arrangement. Only about one-third of all magnet programs use a selective admissions policy, usually involving either a minimum test score requirement, or in a performing arts magnet, an audition. In many instances, districts have supported magnet schools with a considerable investment of resources. On average, expenditures per student are 10 percent higher in districts with magnets; almost three-fourths of magnet programs have additional staffing allowances as well. Some magnet programs are funded through state desegregation funds. Most are funded by three-year grants through the federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP), which began awarding grants in 1985. These funds are made available to districts that are either implementing magnet programs voluntarily or that are acting under court desegregation orders. The MSAP serves a critical role in magnet school