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Alexa Cascio Professor Prewitt
Sociology of Education SY4700-001
Segregation in the Education System
The education system has contributed to the segregation and inequalities students face.
Segregation in schools were purposely put into place through regulations and policies enforced
by local schools and the government. For example, when “Jim Crow Laws” were put into
legislation. Jim Crow Laws began in the southern states of the United States of America post the
Reconstruction Era in 1877 and beyond. This required the segregation of black and white
students, as well as hispanics. This not only impacted students in the education system but
justified segregation that occurred in areas such as hotels, various means of transportation,
restaurants, libraries etc. It was not until the court case titled “Brown v. Board of Education”
occurred that the future of segregated students in the United States would be steered in a
different direction. The Brown v. Board of education case opened in 1952 and ended in 1954.
This case brought to the United States Supreme Court, proclaimed that separate schools for black
and white students was deemed unconstitutional. This becomes significant for students of the
United States as well as the rest of the world. Fast forward to the 21st century evidence shows
segregation in the educational system is still prominent. This literature review will focus on
aspects of segregation that exists today, the outcomes and possible solutions to desegregate
students and create a more equal opportunity for every student.The following will be examined:
The results of early childhood students test scores based on attending a low and or high minority
populated school, changes in extracurricular activities due to the Brown v. Board of Education
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court case, sex-segregation and how it can alter advances in women’s education, academic
segregation and racial inequality in combination with access to resources.
Evidence of segregation and inequality in the education system was collected in an Early
Childhood Longitudinal Study from the NCES (Article 1). This was documented by Johnson
Odis, tilted “Still Separate, Still Unequal: The Relation of Segregation in Neighborhoods and
Schools to Education Inequality”. The data collected and noted focused on 22,782 students
picked at random in the south of the United States of America. The NCES analyzed every
students family, school, neighborhood, and activities participated in, in relation to the result of
test scores. Specifically, the data collected compared low and high minority schools. By
monitoring the intersectionality of the students who attended school together this allowed
researchers to have a better understanding of the result and create possible solutions. The results
concluded that schools that have a higher percentage of minority students showed lower test
scores, especially African American students (Odis, vol 83, pp.199-215). Testing students
through governm...
