Families or Schools? Explaining the Convergence in White and Black Academic Performance

By M. D. Cook, W. Evans. Journal of Labor Economics, 2000

184 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Differences in test scores of white and black students have narrowed substantially over time, falling by one‐half since 1970s. Some have speculated that this convergence is due to changes in family background or convergence in school quality. In this article we decompose the convergence in test scores into that portion due to changes in parental education, changes in school quality, and a narrowing of the within‐school gap in test scores. Only about 25% of the overall convergence is attributable to changing family and school characteristics. We find that nearly 75% of the convergence is attributable to changes within schools.

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Citations in the corpus

Increasing Racial Isolation and Test Score Gaps in Mathematics: A 30-Year Perspective (2010, methodology): “That said, Cook and Evans’ (2000) study also has its drawbacks.”
Does Segregation Still Matter? The Impact of Student Composition on Academic Achievement in High School (2005, background): “Moreover, the quality of schools attended by Blacks in particular has declined over time, especially in urban and highly segregated schools (Cook & Evans, 2000).”
The impact of socio‐economic status on participation and attainment in science (2009, methodology): “Cook and Evans ( 2000 ) found similar results for the convergence in attainment between Black and white students in the USA.”
The role of family socioeconomic resources in the black-white test score gap among young children (2006, background): “Nevertheless, two studies suggest that between 15 and 25% of the convergence of scores before the 1990s may be due to improvements in children’s parental backgrounds, such as increases in mothers’ educational attainment (Cook & Evans, 1998; Grissmer et al., 1998).”
New Evidence about Brown v. Board of Education: The Complex Effects of School Racial Composition on Achievement (2009, background): “…women in the high school class of 1982, Card and Rothstein (2007) find that neighborhood but not school racial composition affects achievement, and Cook and Evans (2000) indicate that little of the black-white difference in National Assessment of Educational Progress scores can be attributed to…”
Publicly Provided Education (2002, background): “…finds no evidence that exposure to whites increases academic attainment or earnings for Black men or women in the high school class of 1982, and Cook and Evans (2000) indicate that little of the black-white difference in National Assessment of Educational Progress scores can be attributed to…”
Social Identity and Achievement Gaps: Evidence From an Affirmation Intervention (2015, background): “However, decompositions of the convergence in Black–White achievement gaps (Cook & Evans, 2000) suggest instead that they were largely attributable to a narrowing of performance among African American and White students with similar backgrounds and attending the same schools.”