Academic Achievement in American Cities: Comparison of Public Comprehensive, Public Magnet, Catholic, and Non-Religious Private High Schools

Problems with our public urban high schools are intensifying, and many see magnet schools and private schools as the answer. But are those schools really better at increasing the academic skills of students? Using the National Educational Longitudinal Survey, the author estimates the effect of attending a magnet school, Catholic school, or secular private school on the achievement of urban students in math, reading, science, and social studies; he compares these estimates to the achievement of students who attend comprehensive public high schools. He finds that magnet schools are more effective than regular schools at raising the proficiency of students in science, reading, and social studies; Catholic schools have a positive impact on math skills, while secular private schools do not offer any advantage, net of preexisting differences among students. Further analyses test the sensitivity of the results to assumptions about independence and selectivity; these show support for the magnet school advantages in reading and social studies, but raise doubts about the Catholic school effects in math and the magnet school effects in science. Academic Achievement in American Cities: Comparison of Public Comprehensive, Public Magnet, Catholic, and Non-Religious Private High Schools Parents and politicians alike are becoming increasingly concerned about the troubled state of public education in American cities. High failure and dropout rates, low scores on standardized tests, and the rapid spread of crime and drug abuse among students have compelled many to urge that school systems be radically restructured (Quality Education for Minorities Project, 1990; Dentzer and Wheelock, 1990). Cities have responded by establishing specialized public schools, such as magnet schools, which many see as a way of improving the quality of urban education (Metz, 1986). More recently, some officials have considered making private schools more accessible, usually through school "choice" programs, whereby public funds are used to subsidize private-school tuition for lowincome students (Chubb and Moe, 1990). Do magnet schools and private schools provide better opportunities and outcomes for students? In this study I compare achievement growth of students in magnet schools, Catholic schools, and secular private schools to that of students in public comprehensive schools, during the first two years of high school. I also consider conditions that may account for achievement differences among schools, such as a school’s academic climate, the types of courses students take, and the bond students feel toward their school. I focus on students and schools in the central cities of metropolitan statistical areas, which include many of our most troubled school systems, and where most of our specialized public schools are located. SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITIES IN CRISIS Most high school students today attend what are known as public comprehensive schools. Established in the early twentieth century, comprehensive schools became preeminent in the 1950s and 1960s, as reflected in the influential writings of James B. Conant (1959, 1961, 1967). In Conant’s 2 view, comprehensive schools could promote unity and meet diverse needs at the same time: inclusion of students from all backgrounds fostered social integration, while the differentiation of school programs (academic, general, and vocational) was said to allow each student to develop to his or her fullest potential (see especially Conant, 1967). Despite these ideals, it is clear that many comprehensive schools are failing to meet the needs of the contemporary urban population. Residential segregation and high concentrations of poverty have made racial and economic integration impossible in neighborhood schools (Wilson, 1987). Comprehensive high schools typically lack specific programs of study and offer little academic counseling; as a result, students often choose their courses haphazardly and see no connection between their schoolwork and their lives outside of the classroom (Powell, Farrar, and Cohen, 1985; Newmann, 1992). Students’ lack of engagement with schoolwork is often accompanied by weak academic performance and discipline problems, resulting in a poor and sometimes unsafe climate for learning. School and Community Decline in the Cities The shortcomings of comprehensive schools are most salient in large cities, because the problems of urban education are compounded by the problems of urban families and communities. City neighborhoods have lost important institutions, such as churches, social clubs, and business firms, that formerly served as social and economic anchors (Wilson, 1987). Declining economic opportunities have resulted in fewer positive adult role models for urban youth, especially among minority teenagers (Anderson, 1990). In the vacuum caused by the decline of legitimate employment opportunities, illicit trade has flourished, particularly the drug trade (Anderson, 1990). The decline in stable family structures has been most severe in urban minority communities, with rates of teenage pregnancy and female-headed households at all-time highs. Deterioration in these social institutions over the past generation has imperiled educational efforts in American cities. 3 Coleman (1990) describes this process as the decline of social capital in urban communities (see also Coleman and Hoffer, 1987). Social capital consists of norms, obligations, and trust generated by relations among persons in a community. When such relations are flourishing, social capital can serve as a resource supporting the cognitive and social development of young people. For example, social capital helps students benefit from educational opportunities by clarifying norms and expectations for engaging in academic work, and by legitimating educational rewards and sanctions. Students who can draw on social capital in a community are likely to find more meaning in school and to view schooling as potentially beneficial over the long term (Coleman and Hoffer, 1987). Social capital can be present even when economic capital is scarce, as depictions of urban slums from a generation ago suggest (Suttles, 1964). Today the picture is quite different, as evidenced by Anderson’s (1990) urban ethnography and by statistics describing the breakdown of social relations cited above. The instability of social structure in contemporary urban communities undermines the development of social capital, and urban youth cannot draw on social capital in their families and neighborhoods to sustain their commitment to education. Are Specialized Schools a Solution? What kind of school, if any, can fill this void? Several writers claim that specialized schools, such as Catholic schools and public magnet schools, may help restore effective education to American cities. Organizational research from other spheres has shown that new forms of organization tend to proliferate in turbulent environments (e.g., Carroll and Huo, 1986), and the current expansion of specialized schooling in cities seems consistent with this process. Although specialized schools have important historical roots, they have become especially common in large urban sites in recent years (Metz, 1986; Moore and Davenport, 1988; Blank, 1989). One study reported that of public high schools in Boston, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia in 1984–85, about 12 percent were academic, specialized schools (Moore and Davenport, 1988). Another study found that by 1987–88, eight of 4 eighteen Boston public high schools were specialized (Dentzer and Wheelock, 1990). These figures constitute increases over the recent past. Anecdotal accounts further indicate that specialized schools are more often found in urban communities than elsewhere. Specialized schools may provide access to social capital for students who cannot find it in their homes and neighborhoods. Hill, Foster, and Gendler (1990) showed that in contrast to public comprehensive schools, Catholic schools often have well-defined missions, or "themes," around which they are socially and academically organized. Coleman and Hoffer (1987) suggested that one more often finds "closure" in social relations among families whose children attend Catholic schools; that is, parents tend to know the parents of their children’s friends, and parents tend to know their children’s teachers. Greater sense of purpose and a more tightly bound community stimulate the development of social capital—i.e., norms, obligations, and trust in social relations—in support of students’ academic progress. Other authors indicate that specialized public schools may also be characterized by a strong sense of community and a unifying purpose. Wehlage and Smith (1992) studied programs for at-risk students in "schools-of choice" and "school-within-a-school" magnets. Effective programs promoted students’ sense of membership in the school’s community, and several were organized around a particular academic or vocational theme. At the Media Academy in Oakland, for example, academic work was oriented towards the production of school publications—electronic or print—and all students participated. According to Wehlage and Smith (1992, p. 97), "Within this socially supportive and academically focused setting, students who might be overlooked and neglected in conventional classrooms become willing to step forward to assert themselves and share their talents in ways that encourage further involvement and engagement." Crain, Heebner, and Si’s (1992) study of career magnet schools in New York City also gives reason to anticipate greater levels of social capital in specialized public schools. Reviewing the claims 5 of proponents, the authors note "the school’s ‘theme’. . . creates an identity for the school which gives faculty a meaningful purpose in education, motivates them to hold students to higher standards, and helps the school develop an integrated and coherent educational philosophy" (p. 3). Even when magnet programs combine academic and career goals, as in New York’s career magnets, they are believed to foster academic progress. According to proponents, students in career magnets see course material as more relevant and thus tend to take more classes, work harder, and learn more. The more intensive academic climate typically found in private schools and public specialized schools may be a source of higher achievement. In such an atmosphere, students tend to pursue academic interests into more advanced levels within subjects. For example, in math, students may be more likely to enter algebra instead of general math, and more students may follow algebra with geometry and more advanced topics. High expectations for academic work are the norm even when the school has a career-oriented mission (Crain, Heebner, and Si, 1992). These expectations are translated into more academic coursework and, presumably, higher achievement. Higher achievement may also result from students’ greater sense of membership, or social bonding, in private and specialized schools (Wehlage et al., 1989; Hill, 1990). A sense of membership, reflecting the trust, norms, and obligations that constitute social capital, increases students’ commitment to and engagement with school work, and is thus likely to promote achievement. Are Specialized Schools More Effective? Little research exists to support or disconfirm the claims of proponents of specialized public schools (Blank, 1989). How effective are magnet schools for students’ academic success? Do they offer an environment that is socially integrated and academically focused? Do they expand educational opportunity by offering a higher quality of education to urban youth, or do they restrict opportunity by catering to a limited subsample of the population? Metz (1986) showed in case studies 6 that some magnet schools do generate cohesive communities, in which students and teachers share a common purpose toward which they work together. Only one study has compared the achievement growth of students in magnet schools with that of similar students in comprehensive schools. Crain, Heebner, and Si (1992) reported that students with average reading scores who entered magnet schools by lottery tended to improve their reading achievement more than otherwise similar students who, because they were unsuccessful in the magnet-school lottery, attended comprehensive schools. The magnet-school "lottery winners" also earned more credit towards graduation and were less likely to drop out prior to high school. More research has been conducted on the effects of Catholic schools, with some concluding that Catholic high schools produce higher achievement and a more equitable distribution of achievement than their public-school counterparts (Coleman and Hoffer, 1987; Lee and Bryk, 1988). Skepticism remains, however, as to whether the Catholic-school advantage is attributable to the schools themselves, or to differences in the student bodies of Catholic and public schools (Alexander and Pallas, 1985; Willms, 1985). Moreover, no study has considered whether the purported effects of Catholic schools hold up when those schools are located in troubled neighborhoods. Finally, Witte, Bailey, and Thorn’s (1992) assessment of the Milwaukee private-school voucher program found that low-income students who attended non-religious private schools had no achievement advantage over a matched sample of low-income students in public schools. In this paper I examine the achievement of students in public magnet schools, Catholic schools, and non-religious private schools in central cities. I compare these results to achievement obtained by similar students in public comprehensive schools. One limitation to the analysis is that it leaves unexamined the many differences among specialized public and private schools. In establishing the average impact of three types of specialized schools, one may miss effects that appear, for 7 example, for some types of magnet schools but not others. Despite this limitation, the present study is a useful first step. The analyses do not leave schools entirely as "black boxes." Rather, I explore three possible mechanisms that may contribute to achievement differences among schools. One is a school characteristic: the academic climate of the school, which, for the reasons explained, may provide more support for teaching and learning in specialized schools than in public comprehensive schools. The others are conditions that vary within schools, but which, on average, may favor students in specialized schools: academic coursetaking and students’ social bonding to schools.