I. Characteristics of MSAP-supported Schools and Programs

# 

The 1998 funding of the federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP)
supports programs in 292 schools within the 57 school districts that
received MSAP grants. In this chapter, we focus on characteristics of
the MSAP-supported schools and programs within the districts operating
MSAP projects: specifically, the grade levels served, types of school
programs, themes of programs, first year (1998--99) program enrollment,
characteristics of students, and Title I programs in MSAP schools. In
later chapters, we turn our attention to what the district-level
projects and school-based programs are doing.

## 

## 

**Grade Levels of MSAP Schools and Types of Programs**

Magnet programs funded by the 1998 MSAP grants are predominantly located
in elementary schools,[^1] comprising 60 percent of all MSAP schools.
Middle schools represent another quarter (24 percent), and high schools
account for less than one-sixth (14 percent) of the schools at which
MSAP programs are operating. A handful of programs (2 percent) are in
schools that serve a combination of grade levels.[^2] The preponderance
of programs in elementary schools is consistent with earlier patterns of
magnet school programs: a national survey of schools in 1992 indicated
that 53 percent of magnet schools (federal and nonfederal) served
elementary school students.[^3]

Magnet schools differ in the manner in which they structure enrollment
in their programs. Some schools offer a magnet program to all students
in the school who are in the grade levels at which the program operates.
These are referred to as *whole school* magnet programs. They are
distinguished from *programs within schools (PWSs)* that offer magnet
curricula to some but not all of the students in the school. Of the
schools supported by 1998 MSAP grants, almost nine out of ten MSAP
schools (89 percent) maintain whole school programs.[^4] PWSs operated
in only 33 (i.e., 11 percent) out of the 292 MSAP magnet schools. PWSs
represented a larger proportion of the secondary as compared to
elementary school programs. Nearly one-third (30 percent) of MSAP high
schools are PWSs as compared with about one in 20 (6 percent) of MSAP
elementary schools, as shown in Figure I-1.

**Figure I-1**

**Type of Magnet Program, by Level**

![](media/image1.wmf){width="6.0in" height="3.7930555555555556in"}n=175
MSAP elementary schools; 71 MSAP middle schools; 40 MSAP high schools

Source: MSAP applications and 1998--99 performance reports

Among the current MSAP schools, the percentage of PWS magnets is lower
than in federal and nonfederal magnet schools at the beginning of the
1990s. In 1992, the PWS structure was utilized by over one third (38
percent) of magnet schools, ranging from one quarter (27 percent) of
elementary schools to two-thirds (69 percent) of high schools.[^5]

**Themes of Programs**

Each magnet school may offer one program or numerous programs, depending
on what the district and the school decide upon. In addition to
instruction in the core subjects (reading/language arts, mathematics,
science, and social studies) that all schools provide, a magnet school
offers special curricula, instructional strategies, and activities that
are not generally available in other schools in the district. Commonly
referred to as "themes," these special features may include extensive
coverage of a core subject such as math or science. They may include a
teaching methodology such as Maria Montessori's concepts and strategies.
They may provide a different context for instruction such as global
studies; offer more intensive exposure to subjects such as dance, drama,
or music; or link instruction to potential careers such as aviation or
medicine. The themes in the 292 MSAP schools cover a broad spectrum and
are further described in Chapter V, Innovative Practices.

## 

## First Year (1998--99) Program Enrollment

**Total Enrollment**

During the 1998--99 school year, MSAP programs operated in 263 of the
292 MSAP schools.[^6] The remaining 29 schools had not yet implemented
their programs because they either had not yet opened or were open but
using their first year for planning. The 263 MSAP schools enrolled over
165,000 students,[^7] including the students in PWS magnets who were
enrolled in the magnet curricula and all students in schools with whole
school programs. About half of all these MSAP students (55 percent) were
enrolled in elementary schools, one-quarter (24 percent) in middle
schools, and about one-fifth (18 percent) in high schools. The remaining
students (4 percent) were enrolled in schools serving combined grade
levels.

The MSAP enrollment data indicate that the vast majority of MSAP
students (95 percent) are enrolled in whole school programs.[^8] While
on average only 5 percent of MSAP students are enrolled in PWS magnets,
the percentage ranges from 3 percent of elementary school students to 7
percent of middle school students to 10 percent of high school students.

### 

### Minority Enrollment

MSAP magnets are intended to bring students from different
socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds together and improve the
educational opportunities of students. In MSAP programs, minority
students constitute about three-quarters (74 percent) of student
enrollments and 70 percent or more of students enrolled at every grade
level.[^9]

Minority students represent about three-quarters (74 percent) of
students in whole school programs, compared with two-thirds (66 percent)
of PWS magnet students. As shown in Figure I-2, the difference in
representation of minority students in PWS and whole school programs is
more apparent in MSAP high schools than in middle and elementary
schools.[^10]

**Figure I-2**

**Percentage of Minority Students Enrolled in PWS and Whole School
Programs, by Level**

![](media/image2.wmf){width="5.995833333333334in"
height="4.222222222222222in"}n=292 MSAP schools for all grades

Source: MSAP 1998--99 performance reports; MSAP Principal Survey,
1999--2000, Item 45; and NCES 1998--99 Common Core of Data

## Characteristics of Students in MSAP-supported Schools

How do students attending MSAP-supported schools compare to students
attending non-MSAP schools in terms of minority status, racial and
ethnic composition, and economic status? We examine this question by
determining the characteristics of students attending MSAP and non-MSAP
schools within the same district and comparing the average across
districts for each group.

On average, minority students represent a larger percentage of the
student enrollment in a district's MSAP schools (71 percent) than in
non-MSAP schools (62 percent) as shown in Figure I-3.[^11] Differences
of a similar magnitude can be found at every grade level. While MSAP
schools have a higher average proportion of minority students, as one
would expect in programs that target minority-isolated schools, the
average for both MSAP and non-MSAP schools exceeds the 50 percent
minority enrollment threshold by which the federal government defines
minority-isolated schools.

The greater average representation of minority groups in MSAP schools,
as compared with non-MSAP schools in the same district, particularly
applies to black students. As Figure I-3 shows, black students account
for an average 42 percent of students enrolled in a district's MSAP
schools, compared with 34 percent of the student enrollment in non-MSAP
schools.[^12] Comparisons for other racial-ethnic minorities show little
or no difference. Hispanics in both MSAP and non-MSAP schools average 22
to 23 percent of student enrollment.[^13] Asian and Pacific Islanders
average 5 to 6 percent in both MSAP and non-MSAP schools, while American
Indians average less than one percent in both types of schools.[^14]

**Figure I-3**

**Mean Percentage Enrollment of Racial-Ethnic Minorities within
Districts for MSAP and Non-MSAP Schools: 1998--99**

![](media/image3.wmf){width="5.99375in"
height="4.082638888888889in"}Source: NCES 1998--99 Common Core of Data

Both MSAP and non-MSAP schools in the 57 MSAP districts enroll a high
proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged students, as indicated by
the percentage of students eligible for the Free or Reduced Price Lunch
Program. Figure I-4 shows that on average, 60 percent of students
attending a district's MSAP schools are socioeconomically disadvantaged
students, compared with 56 percent of students in the non-MSAP
schools.[^15] Thus, MSAP schools have a marginally greater proportion of
socioeconomically disadvantaged students than non-MSAP schools do. These
differences between MSAP and non-MSAP schools become slightly more
apparent when examined by grade level. For example, at the high school
level, the mean percentage of low-income students enrolled in MSAP high
schools is 52 percent, compared to 41 percent in non-MSAP schools.[^16]

**Figure I-4**

**Mean Percentage Enrollment of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged
Students^a^ in MSAP and Non-MSAP Schools within Districts, by Level:
1998--99**

![](media/image4.wmf){width="5.999305555555556in"
height="4.090277777777778in"}Source: NCES 1998--99 Common Core of Data

^a^ Socioeconomically disadvantaged students are defined as students
eligible for the Free or Reduced Price Lunch Program.

## 

## Title I Programs in MSAP-supported Schools

Title I programs serve disadvantaged students who are considered to be
at risk of poor academic achievement in school because they come from
low-income families or lack proficiency in English. School-wide programs
that offer Title I assistance to all students in a school are reserved
for schools in which 50 percent or more of the students qualify to
receive support from a Title I program. For schools in which less than
50 percent of students qualify, Title I assistance is targeted to only
those students who qualify.

The percentage of MSAP-supported schools operating a Title I program is
higher than the national average. As seen in Figure I-5, about 70
percent of MSAP schools receive Title I program funds, compared to 50
percent of the schools in the United States identified in a recent
national survey as receiving Title I funds. The proportion of MSAP
schools operating a Title I program is greater than the national
percentage for elementary, middle, and high schools.[^17]

The high proportion of MSAP-supported schools with a school-wide Title I
program is further evidence of the prevalence of disadvantaged students
in MSAP schools. Over half of the MSAP schools (54 percent) report
operating a school-wide Title I program, compared with 27 percent of
schools nationally. The proportion of MSAP schools with school-wide
Title I programs is twice the percentage nationally for elementary,
middle, and high schools.[^18]

**Figure I-5**

Percentage of MSAP-supported Schools with Targeted and School-wide Title
I Programs Compared with Schools Nationally

![](media/image5.wmf)

Source: MSAP data are from the MSAP Principal Survey, 1999--2000, Items
31 and 32 and responses to the District Data Request. National data are
reported from the 1998--99 National Longitudinal Survey of Schools
(NLSS) in Berends et al.

## 

##  

## What We Learned

-   As was the case in the early 1990s, elementary schools and their
    students still represent the majority served by the federal magnet
    school programs.

-   Federally funded magnets are overwhelmingly whole school programs,
    and schools with whole school programs enroll the vast majority of
    magnet students.

-   The total number of PWSs is small, and they constitute a much
    smaller percent of federal magnet programs at every grade level in
    comparison with the structure of magnet programs in the early 1990s.
    As in the past, programs-within-a-school (PWSs) represent a larger
    proportion of the programs in high schools than in elementary or
    middle schools.

-   Minorities comprise 75 percent of the students in federally funded
    magnet school programs. Representation is somewhat higher in whole
    school programs than in PWSs. In particular, the percent black
    enrollment tends to be higher in MSAP schools than in non-MSAP
    schools in the same district.

-   Although on average slightly more MSAP students are eligible for
    free or reduced price lunches than non-MSAP students, eligibility in
    both MSAP and non-MSAP schools averages over 50 percent for the 57
    school districts.

-   MSAP schools are over-represented among schools receiving Title I
    funds and are more likely to operate a school-wide Title I program
    than other schools nation-wide.

## 

## What We Hope to Learn

-   Our efforts to compile data on characteristics of students in MSAP
    schools, as compared with non-MSAP schools, were limited by the
    difficulty that many school districts had in supplying current
    information for each school within their district. Consequently, in
    this report we relied extensively on the Common Core of Data (CCD).
    We are turning to state agencies to help us obtain data on student
    characteristics by school, but the data for some districts may not
    be available from either district or state agencies. We plan to use
    the data that can be collected over the next year to provide
    additional comparisons of the composition of students in MSAP and
    non-MSAP schools, such as the percentages of students with Limited
    English Proficiency (LEP) and Individualized Educational Plans
    (IEPs).

-   We have shown how Title I programs in MSAP schools compare to
    national averages. In future reports, we also hope to compare the
    prevalence of Title I programs in MSAP schools and non-MSAP schools
    within the same district.

-   We requested information from districts on the characteristics of
    principals and teachers, but districts also had difficulty providing
    these school-level data. We are supplementing our district requests
    for the 1999--2000 school year by turning to state agencies for
    these data. Here too, state and district agencies vary greatly in
    the information they maintain and make available, with information
    on staff qualifications being particularly difficult to obtain. In
    future reports, we plan to use the data that we are able to compile
    over the next year, comparing the demographic composition of the
    teaching and administrative staff in MSAP and non-MSAP schools. We
    also plan to compare student-teacher ratios and any of the staff
    qualifications (e.g., years of teaching experience, educational
    levels) for which we can obtain information.

[^1]: ^?^ See Glossary at the end of this document for definitions used
    to distinguish elementary, middle, high, and combined-level schools.

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

[^3]: Steel, L., and R. Levine. *Educational Innovation in Multiracial
    Contexts: The Growth of Magnet Schools in American Education*.
    Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of the
    Undersecretary, 1994, 34.

[^4]: See Table A-I-2 in Appendix I.

[^5]: Ibid., p. 41.

[^6]: Note that the references to the number of schools in the Overview
    were for 1999-2000, the second year of program implementation and
    the year in which we administered surveys to the 1998 MSAP grantees.

[^7]: See Table A-I-3 in Appendix I.

[^8]: See Table A-I-4 in Appendix I.

[^9]: See Table A-I-5 in Appendix I.

[^10]: See Table A-I-6 in Appendix I.

[^11]: See Table A-I-7 in Appendix I.

[^12]: See Table A-I-8 in Appendix I.

[^13]: See Table A-I-9 in Appendix I.

[^14]: See Tables A-I-10 and A-I-11 in Appendix I.

[^15]: See Table A-I-12 in Appendix I.

[^16]: See Table A-I-12 in Appendix I.

[^17]: Compare Tables A-I-13 and A-I-14 in Appendix I.

[^18]: Compare Tables A-I-13 and A-I-14 in Appendix I