II\. Characteristics of MSAP Districts

In this chapter, we present a general description of the 57 school
districts that received MSAP grants in 1998.[^1] Our intent is to
provide information about the context in which the MSAP-supported
schools and programs operate and the factors that may affect their
ability to meet their desegregation objectives. We describe the types of
desegregation plan, the demographic and enrollment characteristics of
the MSAP districts, the trends in enrollment by race-ethnicity, the
distribution of students in schools with high minority enrollments, and
the school choices available to students in these districts. Our
descriptions of the demographic and enrollment characteristics generally
refer to the 1997--98 school year, as this represents a baseline for
evaluation of the MSAP projects. The trends are examined for the period
from 1993--94 to 1997--98.

**Type of Desegregation Plan**

MSAP funds are intended to assist districts operating under either a
*required* desegregation plan (i.e., one required by a court, state
agency, or the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of
Education \[ED\]), or a *voluntary* plan approved by ED. At the
beginning of the grant cycle, 31 districts (54 percent) of the 57
districts with 1998 MSAP grants were operating their projects as part of
voluntary desegregation plans, while the remaining 26 districts (46
percent) were operating under required desegregation plans.[^2]

**Demographic and Enrollment Characteristics of Districts**

Most 1998 MSAP grants were awarded to urban districts that serve large
student populations consisting of a high proportion of minority students
and students from lower-income families (i.e., students who qualify for
free or reduced-price lunch meals). These characteristics are detailed
below.

## Type of Community

Almost all of the MSAP districts are located in metropolitan areas.[^3]
Two thirds (67 percent) of the districts primarily serve central city
students in large metropolitan areas. By comparison, less than 5 percent
of districts nationally are located in central cities.[^4] Nearly one
third (32 percent) of the districts mainly serve suburban students; that
is, students in metropolitan areas that are primarily outside of the
central city. Only one of the 57 districts lies outside of a large
metropolitan area.[^5] By comparison, over half of school districts
nationally are located outside of metropolitan areas. In short, MSAP
districts are more likely to be in metropolitan areas and particularly
in central cities, as compared with school districts nationally.

## 

## District Enrollment

MSAP districts tend to be quite large compared to U.S. school districts
in general. In the 1997--98 school year, nearly two thirds of the
districts (63 percent) had between 10,000 and 50,000 students, compared
with one in 20 (5 percent) districts nationally. Another 19 percent of
MSAP districts enrolled over 50,000 students, compared with less than 1
percent (0.5 percent) of all U.S. school districts. Only 10 of the 57
districts (18 percent) had fewer than 10,000 public school students.[^6]
In contrast, over 9 in 10 (94.5 percent) public school districts in the
U.S. serve fewer than 10,000 students.[^7]

As Figure II-1 shows, a higher proportion of districts with voluntary
desegregation plans had enrollments of fewer than 10,000 students than
districts with required plans did (26 percent in voluntary plan
districts vs. 8 percent in required plan districts). The percentages
were reversed for the largest districts. Nearly a third (31 percent) of
districts with required desegregation plans enrolled over 50,000
students, compared to 10 percent of districts with voluntary
desegregation plans.

**Figure II-1**

**Size of District Enrollment, by Type of Desegregation Plan**

![](media/image1.wmf){width="5.625694444444444in"
height="4.363888888888889in"} **Type of Desegregation Plan**

Source: NCES 1997--98 Common Core of Data

## Socioeconomic Status

MSAP districts serve a high proportion of socioeconomically
disadvantaged students. Over half (60 percent) of all students in MSAP
districts qualify for free or reduced price lunches.[^8] In comparison,
about one third (33 to 38 percent) of students nationally are estimated
to be eligible for free and reduced price lunches.[^9] On average, over
half (54 percent) of the students within an MSAP district qualify for
free or reduced price lunches.[^10]^,^ [^11]

## Race and Ethnic Group Levels of Enrollment

On average, minority students represent nearly two-thirds (62 percent)
of students in MSAP districts for the 1997--98 school year.[^12] Blacks
represent the largest minority group, with about one third (35 percent)
of all students in MSAP districts. Hispanics are the next largest group,
averaging about one fifth (21 percent) of students. Asian and Pacific
Islanders represent one twentieth (5 percent) of students in MSAP
districts, and American Indian or Alaskan Natives on average constitute
less than 1 percent of all students in the MSAP districts.[^13]

Districts with voluntary desegregation plans have a slightly higher
average percentage of minority students (about 65 percent) than
districts with required desegregation plans (59 percent).[^14] The
difference is mainly due to a larger proportion of Asian and Pacific
Islanders in the voluntary plan districts (7 percent versus 3 percent).
The average percentage of blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians is
similar for voluntary and required desegregation plan districts.[^15]

These averages, however, do not convey the racial and ethnic variability
in the student composition of MSAP districts. Figure II-2 summarizes the
racial-ethnic groups that represent a majority of the students in MSAP
districts. White students represent the majority of students in one
third (33 percent) of the districts; black students represent the
majority in about one fifth (21 percent) of the districts; and Hispanic
students represent the majority in 11 percent of the districts. In over
one third (35 percent) of MSAP districts, no single racial-ethnic group
constitutes a majority of the students.[^16]

**Figure II-2**

Percentage of Districts by Racial-Ethnic Group Representing a Majority
of Students Enrolled in District Schools: 1997--98

![](media/image2.wmf){width="5.929861111111111in"
height="2.441666666666667in"}Source: NCES 1997--98 Common Core of Data

**Trends in District Enrollment by Race and Ethnicity**

During the 1990s, prior to the start of the current MSAP grants, the
representation of minority students in MSAP districts increased, with
the largest increase occurring among Hispanics. The average percentage
of minority students in MSAP districts increased from 58 percent in
1993--94 to 62 percent in 1997--98. Districts with voluntary and
required desegregation plans experienced a similar increase of 4
percentage points in the proportion of minority student enrollment.[^17]

Figure II-3 compares the average percent enrollment of students for each
racial-ethnic group in 1993--94 and 1997--98. While the proportion of
white students declined by 4 percentage points (from 42 percent to 38
percent), the largest gains occurred among Hispanic students, whose
average representation increased by 2 percentage points (19 percent to
21 percent). Enrollments of black students in MSAP districts on average
increased by one percent between 1993--94 and 1997--98. The
representation of Asian and American Indian students stayed about the
same in the MSAP districts.[^18]

The increase in enrollment among Hispanic students between 1993--94 and
1997--98 also is seen in an increase in the number of MSAP districts in
which Hispanics represent a majority of the students. During this
four-year period, Hispanics became the student majority in two MSAP
districts. One of those districts previously had a white majority, and
the other had had no racial or ethnic group in the majority. No other
race-ethnic group became the majority in MSAP districts during this
period.[^19]

Figure II-3

Average Percentage of Student Enrollment in MSAP Districts, by
Race-Ethnicity: 1993--94 and\
1997--98

![](media/image3.wmf){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.373611111111111in"}Source: NCES 1993--94 and 1997--98 Common
Core of Data

## 

## Distribution of Students in High Minority Enrollment Schools

In this section, we examine the degree of isolation of minority students
in MSAP districts by describing the extent to which a district's
students were enrolled in high minority schools in 1997--98. We also
examine the changes in those distributions that occurred between
1993--94 and 1997--98. We use three different thresholds for defining
"high minority schools": schools with a minority enrollment of at least
50 percent; schools with a minority enrollment of at least 75 percent;
and schools with a minority enrollment of at least 90 percent. The first
of these thresholds (50 percent) reflects the legal definition of
minority group isolation. The two remaining thresholds reflect a higher
level of segregation.[^20]

In 1997--98, an average of three-quarters (74 percent) of minority
students in MSAP districts attended schools with at least 50 percent
minority enrollment; two fifths (42 percent) attended schools with at
least 75 percent minority enrollment; and about one fifth (21 percent)
attended schools with 90 percent or more minority students.[^21] These
averages at each of the three thresholds are four to five times greater
for the MSAP districts than for school districts with minority
students.[^22]

Figure II-4 shows the average percent of minority students attending
high minority schools in 1997-98 in MSAP districts with voluntary and
required desegregation plans.[^23] The average percentage of minority
students attending high minority schools is slightly greater for
districts with voluntary desegregation than for districts with required
desegregation plans for each of the three definitions of "high minority
school." The average proportion of minority students who attend schools
in which at least half of the students are minority is 9 percent greater
in districts with voluntary desegregation plans than in districts with
required desegregation plans (78 vs. 69 percent). Similar but smaller
differences between districts with voluntary and required desegregation
plans can be seen for other definitions of high minority schools.

**Figure II-4**

**Average Percentage of Minority Students Attending High Minority
Enrollment Schools in MSAP Districts, by Type of Desegregation Plan:
1997--98**

![](media/image4.wmf){width="5.823611111111111in"
height="3.938888888888889in"}Source: NCES 1997--98 Common Core of Data

Figure II-5 shows the average percent of minority students attending
high minority schools in MSAP districts in 1993--94 and 1997--98. The
figure shows that for each of the three definitions of "high minority
school," the average percentage of minority students attending high
minority enrollment schools increased between 1993--94 and
1997--98.[^24] The increases were not uniform across the three
definitions of minority isolated schools. The increase in the proportion
of minority students in schools with from 50 percent or more to 90
percent or more enrollment ranged from 7 percent to 2 percent. The
inverse relationship between degree of change and the three levels of
"high minority schools" may be due to a ceiling effect operating at the
highest level. In any event, MSAP districts experienced an increase in
the concentration of minority students enrolled in high minority
schools.

**Figure II-5**

**Average Percentage of Minority Students Attending High Minority
Enrollment Schools in MSAP Districts, by School Year: 1993--94 and
1997--98**

![](media/image5.wmf){width="5.997916666666667in"
height="3.3569444444444443in"}Source: NCES 1993--94 and 1997--98 Common
Core of Data

As shown in Figure II-6, black students represent the highest average
percentage of students enrolled in schools with at least 50 percent
minority enrollment, compared with other racial-ethnic groups in both
1993--94 and 1997--98. In both years, the average percentage is lowest
for white students. Nevertheless, the average proportion of students
attending schools with 50 percent or more minority enrollment increased
for all racial-ethnic groups, including whites.[^25] The average
proportion of students attending schools with 75 percent or more
minority students, and 90 percent or more minority students also
increased for every racial-ethnic group.[^26]

**Figure II-6**

Average Percentage of Students Attending Schools with 50 Percent or More
Minority Student Enrollment in MSAP Districts, by Race-Ethnicity and
Year: 1993--94 and 1997--98

![](media/image6.wmf){width="5.996527777777778in"
height="3.8916666666666666in"}Source: NCES 1993--94 and 1997--98 Common
Core of Data

To summarize, the average proportion of minority students in MSAP
districts attending minority-isolated schools in 1997--98 is greater
than the national average for varying thresholds of isolation. The
proportion of minority students attending minority-isolated schools is
somewhat greater in districts with voluntary plans than in districts
with required desegregation plans. During the four-year period prior to
the start of the 1998 MSAP grants, the average percentage of minority
students who attend high minority schools in MSAP districts increased.
The average proportion of students who are enrolled in high minority
schools in MSAP districts increased for all minority groups and for
whites at different thresholds for identifying high minority schools.

**School Choices within MSAP Districts**

The school choices available to students within a district are an
important part of the context within which MSAP-supported schools and
programs operate. In some districts, the demand for access to federally
funded magnet programs may be greater than MSAP projects can handle, and
districts may try to manage this demand by using waiting lists. In other
districts, the federally sponsored magnet programs may face competition
from other educational programs, making recruitment of students more
difficult. We examine two questions that reflect on the district context
of school choice:

-   To what extent do MSAP projects maintain waiting lists and how are
    they used?

-   To what extent do other schools compete with MSAP-supported schools
    and programs for students?

    **Waiting Lists**

Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of MSAP Project Directors report that
waiting lists are maintained for one or more of their MSAP programs,
either by the district or the school. More than three quarters (77
percent) of districts with required desegregation plans and more than
one half (52 percent) of districts with voluntary desegregation plans
maintain waiting lists.[^27]

Almost all of the projects that maintain waiting lists use them into the
school year, permitting students on the list to be admitted after the
start of the school year if space becomes available. In only a few
districts is the list kept beyond a year, and students must reapply if
they are still eligible for entry in a subsequent year.

**Educational Alternatives to MSAP Programs**

Federally funded magnet programs may be one of several options available
to students. More than half (54 percent) of the MSAP Project Directors
report a great deal of competition for students from one or more
educational programs.[^28] Strong competition for students is more
likely to be reported in districts with required desegregation plans
than in those with voluntary plans (67 percent vs. 41 percent,
respectively), as shown in Figure II-7. The figure also indicates that
the largest factor in this difference is that over one third (37
percent) of districts with required desegregation plans report
competition from non-MSAP magnets (that is, magnets funded by the
district), as compared with less than one tenth (7 percent) of districts
with voluntary plans. MSAP districts with required desegregation plans
have a median of six non-MSAP magnets in the district; districts with
voluntary plans have a median of two.[^29]

Other public schools present a great deal of competition for students in
about one fifth of districts with either voluntary or required
desegregation plans (21 and 22 percent, respectively), and religious
schools provide a great deal of competition in a similar proportion of
districts.[^30] Private non-sectarian schools are seen as a major source
of competition by almost one quarter (24 percent) of districts with
voluntary desegregation plans, compared with about one tenth (11
percent) of districts with required plans.

Neither charter nor home schools are seen as major sources of
competition for students in districts with either required or voluntary
desegregation plans. In fact, when asked whether various forms of
schooling provided no competition, some competition, or a lot of
competition for students, approximately 70 percent of MSAP Project
Directors reported that there was no competition from charter schools in
their district.

**Figure II-7**

**Percentage of Districts Reporting a Great Deal of Competition for
Students from Other Types of Schools, by Type of Desegregation Plan**

![](media/image7.wmf){width="5.997222222222222in"
height="4.509027777777778in"}Source: MSAP Project Survey, 1999--2000,
Item 8

## What We Have Learned

-   MSAP districts are almost exclusively metropolitan districts, and
    the overwhelming majority service central city schools.

-   MSAP districts tend to be large, with over three-quarters having
    enrollments of 10,000 or more students.

-   Minority students represent an average of nearly two-thirds (62
    percent) of students in MSAP districts.

-   Black students represent the largest minority group, with an average
    of about one third of all students in MSAP districts.

-   Minority students outnumber white students in two thirds (66
    percent) of MSAP districts, with black students constituting a
    majority in 21 percent of MSAP districts and Hispanic students
    representing a majority in 11 percent of MSAP districts.

-   The average percentage of minority students in MSAP districts
    increased by four percent between 1993-94 and the start of the MSAP
    grant period in 1998.

-   The proportion of Hispanic students in MSAP districts increased more
    than that of any other racial-ethnic group.

-   The average proportion of minority students attending
    minority-isolated schools in MSAP districts is four to five times
    greater than the average for school districts nation-wide.

-   The average proportions of both minority and non-minority students
    attending high minority schools increased between 1993-94 and the
    start of the 1998 MSAP programs.

-   Over half of the MSAP Project Directors report that their programs
    face a great deal of competition for students from other educational
    programs.

-   Districts with required desegregation plans are more likely to
    report strong competition for students than districts with voluntary
    desegregation plans. The largest factor in this difference is that
    competition comes more frequently from other magnet schools (not
    funded by MSAP) in districts with required desegregation plans.

## What We Hope to Learn

-   District characteristics and trends in the enrollment and
    distribution of students represent the context within which
    federally funded magnet schools and programs operate. As the data
    become available to assess the success of projects in meeting their
    program goals, we hope to learn more about the types of district
    characteristics, and the trends in enrollment and distribution of
    students, that are associated with the success MSAP projects have in
    meeting those goals.

[^1]: One of the projects is a collaborative effort of five districts
    acting as a single district.

[^2]: See Table A-II-1 in Appendix II.

[^3]: The U.S. Census Bureau concept of a metropolitan area is a core
    area containing a large population nucleus and adjacent communities
    that have a high degree of economic and social integration with the
    core. Metropolitan areas identified by the U.S. Census Bureau must
    contain either one city with 50,000 or more inhabitants or an
    urbanized area of 50,000 and a total metropolitan population of at
    least 100,000 inhabitants. Metropolitan areas are subdivided into
    "inside central city" and "outside central city." The largest city
    in a metropolitan area is designated as a "central city." Additional
    cities in a metropolitan area may also qualify as a central city if
    they meet the Bureau's requirements for population size and
    commuting patterns. (Source:
    [www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/aboutmetro.html](http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/aboutmetro.html)).

[^4]: Data from the 1997-98 Common Core of Data (CCD) show that 4.5
    percent of U.S. school districts are located in a central city of a
    metropolitan area, 42.1 percent are located in metropolitan areas
    outside of the central city (i.e., suburban), and 53.4 percent of
    districts are located outside of a metropolitan area.

[^5]: See Table A-II-2 in Appendix II.

[^6]: See Table A-II-3 in Appendix II.

[^7]: The source of information on all U.S. school districts is
    *Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary
    Districts in the United States: 1997-98*.
    nces.ed.gov/pubs99/1999318/discussion.html

[^8]: The percent is based on data for 51 of the 57 MSAP districts from
    NCES's 1998-99 Common Core of Data (CCD) for data on Eligibility for
    Free and Reduced Lunch. Data on free and reduced price lunch were
    not available in the CCD for 6 districts. Although not available for
    all districts, the 1998-99 revisions to the NCES collection of data
    on Free and Reduced Price Lunch provide more accurate data than for
    previous years.

[^9]: An estimated 33.2 percent of students nationally are eligible for
    Free or Reduced Price Lunch based on data from the 1993-94 Schools
    and Staffing Survey (SASS). (See
    <http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2000/digest99/d99t379.html>). The estimate
    from the 1998-99 CCD for districts on which free and reduced price
    lunch information is available (82 percent of districts) is that 38
    percent of students are eligible for free or reduced price lunch.

[^10]: See Table A-II-4 in Appendix II.

[^11]: Note that the mean percentages reported in Figure I-4 of Chapter
    I summarize student eligibility for MSAP-supported schools and
    non-MSAP-supported schools of comparable grade levels within
    districts. The mean percentage reported here refers to student
    eligibility across all grade levels within districts.

[^12]: See Table A-II-5 in Appendix II.

[^13]: See Table A-II-6 in Appendix II.

[^14]: See Table A-II-5 in Appendix II.

[^15]: See Table A-II-6 in Appendix II.

[^16]: The overall pattern for voluntary and required plan districts is
    similar. See Table A-II-7 in Appendix II.

[^17]: See Table A-II-5 in Appendix II.

[^18]: See Table A-II-8 in Appendix II.

[^19]: See Table A-II-9 in Appendix II.

[^20]: Desegregation researchers use alternative thresholds of isolation
    as a means of describing variation in levels of segregation (e.g.,
    Orfield et al., 1997; Orfield and Yun, 1999). In this report, we use
    three alternative thresholds to provide a more complete description
    of segregation in the MSAP districts.

[^21]: See Table A-II-10 in Appendix II.

[^22]: The comparisons are to the national average for school districts
    with minority students. Data from the 1997-98 Common Core of Data
    indicate that an average of 15 percent of minority students within a
    school district attended schools with 50 percent or more minority
    students, 8 percent attended schools with 75 percent or more
    minority enrollment, and 5 percent attended schools with 90 percent
    or more minority enrollment.

[^23]: See Table A-II-10 in Appendix II.

[^24]: See Table A-II-11 in Appendix II.

[^25]: See Table A-II-12 in Appendix II.

[^26]: See Tables A-II-13 and A-II-14 in Appendix II.

[^27]: See Table A-II-15 in Appendix II.

[^28]: See Table A-II-16 in Appendix II.

[^29]: See Table A-II-17 in Appendix II.

[^30]: Although the data are not shown in Figure II-7, MSAP Project
    Directors in 27 percent of the voluntary districts and 23 percent of
    the required districts report a great deal of competition from at
    least one of the two types of private educational institutions:
    religious and nonsectarian.