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Education and Race: An Analysis of the Educational Production Process

Author/s: 
Eric A. Hanushek
Published Date: 
1972
Publication: 
Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath
Pages: 
176 pages
Chapter one of this study of the education of minorities in the United States delineates the past record of the educational system in equating the educational levels of whites and minorities. It also sets the background of the educational system in terms of the dynamics of urban areas and the financial problems faced by school systems. Within chapter two, the basic concepts of production relationships for education are described. Such input-output relationships provide a basic method for organizing what we know about the educational process. From a production function, it is possible to make decisions about educational policy. This chapter both describes the decision rules which administrators should use and presents a conceptual model of the educational process. Chapters three through five illustrate how data from the past operations of the school system can be used to gain insights into the educational process. Statistical models representing the educational process in elementary schools are developed. Chapter six looks into the question of school desegregation in some detail. The implications of racial and ethnic composition in earlier chapters are related to current discussions of the educational value of desegregation. Finally, an attempt is made in chapter seven to outline how such an analysis provides inputs to the educational decision maker.

CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Topics in Public Education
  Resource Allocation 2
  Distribution of Educational Services 4
  Production Functions for Education 7
  Directions of Analysis 8
Chapter 2. A Conceptual Model of the Educational Process
  A Simple Decision Rule 12
  Educational Production Functions 15
  A Conceptual Model 16
  The Output of Education 20
     Skill Aspects of Education 20
     Socialization Aspects of Education 23
  Joint Production 26
  Inputs to Education 26
     Family Background 27
     Peer Group Inputs 28
     Initial Endowments 29
     School Factors 31
  Functional Form 32
  The Conceptual Model 33
Chapter 3. Single System, Individual Student Analysis
  Measuring a School System 36
  Do Teachers Count? 38
  Efficiency Aspects of Schools 40
  Characteristics of Teachers 42
  White, Manual Occupation 43
  White, Nonmanual Occupation  
  Inconsequential Inputs  
  Single System Conclusions  
Chapter 4. Multisystem Analysis-White Education
  Model Modification and Sample Data 53
  Educational Production Functions for White Sixth Graders 58
  Central Cities 61
  Family Background 62
  Pre-School 65
  Migration 66
  Attitudes 67
  School Effects 69
  Black Concentration 73
  Facilities 74
  The Education of Whites 76
Chapter 5. Multisystem Analysis-Black Education
  Black Sample 78
  Educational Production Functions for Black Sixth Graders 79
  Some Minor Differences 81
  Family Background and Attitudes 83
  The Effect of Schools 86
  Racial Composition 89
  Miscellany 91
  The Education of Blacks 92
Chapter 6. Race and Public Education
  The Problem-Socialization Aspects 97
  The Narrow Analysis of Segregation 99
  Incomplete Models of Education 100
  A Qualification 104
  Desegregation and Educational Policy 105
Chapter 7. Summary and Beyond
  The Findings 108
  Implications for Policy-Resource Allocation 111
     Hiring Teachers 112
     Teacher Accountability 114
  Implications for Policy-The Distribution of Educational Services 115
     Compensatory Education 116
     School Desegregation 117
     Community Control of Schools 120
     Restructuring Options 121
     A Synthesis 122
  Needed Information 123
  A Final Word 124
Appendix
The OE Survey DataNotes
Bibliography
Index
List of Tables
  1-1 Approval on School Bond Elections, 1962-1970
1-2 Achievement Differentials by Race and Region; Average Grade Levels Behind the Average White in the Metropolitan Northeast, Verbal Ability
3-1 F-Statistics for Null Hypothesis of Uniform Teacher Effects
3.2 Tests for Significant Effect of Pay Parameters
3-3 Variable Definitions, Means and Standard Deviations-White Manual Occupation Model
3-4 Simple Correlations for Teacher Characteristics-White Manual Sample
3-5 Variable Definitions, Means and Standard Deviations-Nonmanual Occupation Model
4-1 Distribution of White Schools by Percentage of Sixth Graders Who are Black
4-2 Variable Definitions for the White Educational Production Functions
4-3 Means and Standard Deviations for Variables in the White Educational Production Functions
5-1 Distribution of Black Schools by Percentage of Sixth Graders Who Are Black
5-2 Variable Definitions for the Black Educational Production Functions
5-3 Means and Standard Deviations for Variables in the Black Educational Production Functions
5-4 Facility Characteristics of Elementary Schools for Blacks and Whites-Metropolitan Northeast and Midwest
6-1 Distribution of Black Students by Minority Enrollment in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1968
7-1 Public Elementary and Secondary SchoolsPercentage Distribution of Classroom Teachers, By Experience and Degrees Held: 1970