This evaluation report examines high school programs for high ability students in Orange County, Florida. The evaluation study used interviews, surveys, and a review of records. It was found that: (1) all high schools have developed a course of study for high ability students, including Advanced Placement, honors, and four magnet programs; (2) all…

In September 1980, the Board of Education of the City of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Justice signed a consent degree that committed the board to the development of a comprehensive student desegregation plan to remedy the effects of past segregation on Black and Hispanic students. To fulfill the goals of the Chicago Desegregation Plan,…

Seventy students and 62 teachers and administrators in New York City career magnet and comprehensive schools were interviewed to learn why the career magnets were successful. A statistical analysis of student outcome data for the interview sites verified they were at least as effective as the typical magnet school. Interviews with students…

In order to promote voluntary integration in two high schools and a middle school, the Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas developed a magnet program that offers specialized curricula: engineering at the all black Dunbar High School, finance at the predominantly black Polytechnic High School, and communications at Dunbar Middle School.…

This paper discusses the instructional development factors that are important in planning magnet schools. Intended to serve as a basic source document for school districts that are considering the development of magnet schools, the paper includes information and examples based on the author's experiences as a curriculum planner in Buffalo (New…

School choice is advocated on the theory that deregulation and greater market control can restructure and improve education. While certain market strategies of improvement are worth exploring, complex production functions, unclear goals, and the political role of education in society limit the extent to which education can be understood and…

Magnet schools have become increasingly popular as alternatives to traditional curriculum offerings and as tools to promote voluntary desegregation in urban school districts. Most evaluations of magnet schools have been concerned with monitoring objectives and compliance with regulations. Few reports assess the impact of magnet curricula on…

The implementation of the elementary magnet school program in Montgomery County (Maryland) from 1983 through 1985 and the racial balance changes experienced in these schools are discussed. Ten elementary schools in Area 1 and four of seven elementary schools in Area 2 operate magnet programs; these 14 schools comprise the study sample. The…

Before trying to identify Federal policies which might help bring about constructive school desegregation in metropolitan areas, it is useful to discuss some of the considerations which make a metropolitan or regional approach to this problem desirable. This paper reviews the socioeconomic factors and the geographic and administrative feasibility…

This fourth report of the Desegregation Monitoring and Advisory Committee examines the problems in the implementation of a desegregation plan for the St. Louis, Missouri public schools. The organizational role of administrative and volunteer personnel and the process of obtaining information through school visitation is discussed. Problems of…

The methods and process of desegregation between 1968 and 1976 were analyzed for 52 large school districts in this case survey report. The first section presents the research design in which the case survey method and the selection of 52 districts are considered. The second section includes a detailed look at the various desegregation techniques…

This is the 1980 desegregation plan of the Board of Education of the City of Saint Louis, Missouri. The document contains information on the following: (1) grade configurations, school clustering, and projected enrollments; (2) transportation; (3) magnet and alternative schools; (4) school specialty programs; (5) student transfer policy; (6) staff…

Despite the rapid growth and popularity of the magnet school movement, little systematic research has been conducted on questions of vital importance in assessing the movement's impact on the quality of educational opportunities in big-city school districts. There are certain issues that are important and deserve immediate attention from educators…

This paper traces the history of a magnet school which opened in 1975 amid claims that it would serve as a model of high quality integrated education but which, three years later, was widely perceived as an overcrowded, predominantly black institution. The local Board of Education decided to open a magnet school in which new teaching techniques…

The New York Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is a grass-roots community organization representing 20,000 mostly low-income residents of New York City. This report presents evidence uncovered by ACORN of institutional racism in the New York City public schools that prevents parents of color from making informed…