Segregation within Integrated Schools - Racially Disproportionate Student-Teacher Assignments in Middle School

Oct 15, 2026

Racial segregation in American education persists as a key driver of the racial achievement gap, continuing beyond the 1954 Brown v. Board decision through de facto segregation and second-generation patterns. The study focuses on how Black and Latino students are assigned to less experienced teachers compared with White counterparts. Using trends across multiple years, it identifies statistically significant cumulative disparities in middle school math. Findings show race is linked to teacher experience and underscore negative impacts on students of color, supporting stronger administrative interventions for teacher-student assignment equity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Racial segregation and achievement gap

Disproportionate teacher assignments and methodology

Findings on teacher experience by student race

Implications for equity interventions

education policy analysis archives A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal Arizona State University Volume 28 Number 170 November 9 , 2020 ISSN 1068-2341 Segregation within Integrated Schools: Racially Disproportionate Student-Teacher Assignments in Middle School Tracey Benson University of North Carolina at Charlotte Amber Bryant University of Michigan & Tuba Gezer University of North Carolina at Charlotte United States Citation: Benson, T., Bryant, A., & Gezer, T. (2020) . Segregation within integrated schools: Racially disproportionate student-teacher assignments in middle school. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 28(170). [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.28.5503](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.28.5503) Abstract: Racial segregation has been an ongoing issue in American education and one of the leading contributors to the racial achievement gap. Prior to the Brown v. Board decision of 1954, Black Americans were legally relegated to substandard schools and educational opportunities. PostBrown, racial segregation continues to manifest as a result of de facto segregation and second-generation segregation. Moreover, the predominantly White teaching force – a negative consequence of desegregation – has been linked to poorer outcomes for Black and Latino students. Our study examines trends in racially disproportionate assignment of Black and Latino students to less experienced teachers than their White counterparts. Specifically, our analysis illustrates statistically significant trends in the assignment of less experienced teachers to Black and Latino students in middle school math over several years. This analysis contributes to the recent research phenomenon of measuring the cumulative pattern of racially disproportionate teacher-student assignments overtime as a particularly effective means of understanding the effects of systematic and sustained inequalities on academic achievement. Across several grades and content areas of instruction, we found that the race of students was related to the teaching experience of their teachers. Our findings illustrate the negative impacts of racial segregation on students of color and supports the need for more intervention and administrative intentions regarding teacher-student assignments and racial equity in schools. Keywords: academic achievement gap; racial segregation; disproportionality; teacher-student assignment Segregación dentro de las escuelas integradas: Asignaciones de alumnos y maestros racialmente desproporcionadas en la escuela secundaria Resumen: La segregación racial ha sido un problema constante en la educación estadounidense yuno de los principales contribuyentes a la brecha de rendimiento racial. Antes de la decisión Brown v. Board de 1954, los afroamericanos estaban legalmente relegados a escuelas y oportunidadeseducativas deficientes. Después de Brown, la segregación racial continúa manifestándose como resultado de la segregación de facto y la segregación de segunda generación. Además, la fuerza docente predominantemente blanca, una consecuencia negativa de la desegregación, se harelacionado con peores resultados para los estudiantes negros y latinos. Nuestro estudio examina lastendencias en la asignación racialmente desproporcionada de estudiantes negros y latinos a maestros con menos experiencia que sus contrapartes blancos. Específicamente, nuestro análisis ilustratendencias estadísticamente significativas en la asignación de maestros con menos experiencia a estudiantes negros y latinos en matemáticas de secundaria durante varios años. Este análisis contribuye al fenómeno de investigación reciente de medir el patrón acumulativo de asignaciones de maestro-alumno racialmente desproporcionadas a lo largo del tiempo como un medio particularmente eficaz para comprender los efectos de las desigualdades sistemáticas y sostenidas en el rendimiento académico. En varios grados y áreas de contenido de instrucción, e

FAQs

What does the study examine about teacher-student assignments?

It examines how Black and Latino students are assigned to teachers with less experience than White students, focusing on cumulative patterns over time.

Which subjects and grade levels are analyzed?

The analysis centers on middle school math across several years, and considers trends across grades and instructional content areas.

How are the study’s findings related to racial equity in schools?

Results indicate that students’ race is associated with teacher experience and that racial segregation has negative impacts on students of color, supporting the need for stronger interventions and administrative intentions for assignment equity.

Oct 15, 2026

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