Exposure to School and Classroom Racial Segregation in Charlotte-Mecklenburg High Schools and Students’ College Achievement - Study

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag

Investigates how exposure to racial segregation in Charlotte-Mecklenburg high schools affects academic performance during the first year of college, focusing on both school-level and classroom-level segregation. Tracks the CMS 2004 student cohort from middle school through the University of North Carolina (UNC) system using administrative data from the Roots of STEM Success Project. Results indicate that segregation among schools and among classes within schools undermines college achievement for students of color, while showing no significant benefits for white students’ outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

College achievement and drivers

Role of high school segregation

| education policy analysis archives
A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal | | | --- | --- | | Arizona State University | | | Volume 24 Number 32 March 14, 2016 ISSN 1068-2341 | | Exposure to School and Classroom Racial Segregation in Charlotte-Mecklenburg High Schools and Students’College Achievement Jason Giersch Martha Cecilia Bottia Roslyn Arlin Mickelson & Elizabeth Stearns University of North Carolina at Charlotte United States Citation: Giersch, J., Bottia, M. C., Mickelson, R. A. & Stearns, E. (2016) . Exposure to school and classroom racial segregation in Charlotte-Mecklenburg high schools and students’ college achievement. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24(32). [http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v24.2123](http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v24.2123) [Abstract:](Abstract: In this study we investigate Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools)[ In this study we investigate Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools](Abstract: In this study we investigate Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools) (CMS) high school graduates’ academic performance in the first year of college and test whether their exposure to racial segregation in high school at both the school and classroom levels affected their college freshman grade point averages. Utilizing administrative data from the Roots of STEM Success Project, we track the CMS class of 2004 from middle school through its first year of education in the University of North Carolina (UNC) system. Our findings show that segregation among schools and among classes within schools compromises college achievement for students of color while offering no significant benefits to white students’ college achievement. Keywords: social structure; segregation; second-generation segregation; achievement; tracking; North Carolina; longitudinal; multilevel modeling Exposición a segregación en el colegio y en las clases en las escuelas secundarias de Charlotte-Mecklenburg y el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes Resumen: En este estudio investigamos el rendimiento académico de los graduados de escuelas secundarias de Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) en su primer año de universidad y probamos si la exposición a segregación racial durante la escuela secundaria al nivel colegio yclase afecta su promedio de rendimiento académico en la universidad. Utilizando datos administrativos del Roots of STEM Success Project, seguimos a la clase de estudiantes del CMS del 2004 desde la escuela media hasta su primer año de universidad en el sistema universitario de Carolina del Norte (UNC) . Nuestros resultados muestran que la segregación entre colegios yentre clase dentro de un colegio deteriora el rendimiento académico en la universidad de los estudiantes de color, mientras al mismo tiempo no ofrece beneficios significativos al rendimiento académico de los estudiantes blancos en la universidad. Palabras-clave: estructura social; segregación; segregación de segunda generación; rendimiento académico; la división de los alumnos en grupos de acuerdo a su nivel deaptitud; Carolina del Norte; longitudinal; modelos multiniveles Exposição à segregação racial na escola e na sala de aula nas escolas de ensino médio e as conquistas dos estudantes de faculdade de Charlotte-Mecklenburg Resumo: Nesse estudo nós investigamos os formandos do ensino secundário das escolas do condado de Mecklenburg em Charlotte (CMS) e o desempenho acadêmico no primeiro ano defaculdade, e testamos para ver se a exposição à segregação racial na escola de ensino secundário, tanto na escola como na sala de aula afetou as notas desses alunos no primeiro ano de faculdade. Utilizando dados administrativos obtidos através do Roots ofSTEM Success Project, nósacompanhamos a classe de 2004 de CMS desde o ensino médio até o primeiro ano de faculdade na Universidade da Carolina do Norte (UNC) . Nossos resultados mostram que a segregação entre escolas e entre salas de aula dentro da escola comprometem as conquistas na facul

FAQs

What does the study examine about racial segregation?

It examines whether exposure to racial segregation at both the school and classroom levels in Charlotte-Mecklenburg high schools affects students’ first-year college academic performance.

How is the data collected and what cohort is followed?

The study uses administrative data from the Roots of STEM Success Project and tracks the CMS class of 2004 from middle school through the first year of education in the UNC system.

What are the main findings about segregation’s impact?

Segregation among schools and among classes within schools compromises college achievement for students of color, with no significant benefits found for white students’ college achievement.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag