A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

     ATTENTION:  EDUCATION EDITOR                         June 1, 1994                A review of current programs and projects at the            U.S. Department of Education.  Use upon receipt.        CONTACT:  Melinda Kitchell  (202) 401-1008 

ITEM: MAGNET SCHOOLS SWELL IN NUMBER, DEMAND STILL UNMET

Educational Innovation in Multiracial Contexts: The Growth of Magnet Schools in American Education notes that in 1991-92, 2,400 individual magnet schools and 3,200 magnet programs were open in about 230 public school districts. The number of students enrolled in magnet programs totaled 1.2 million, up three-fold since 1981-82.

First launched by school districts in the late 1970s, magnet schools are used to help desegregate schools while also improving the quality of education by offering a distinctive curriculum or instructional approach to attract students from outside the neighborhood. They differ from other specialty schools and school choice programs in that desegregation is an explicit objective. Most magnet school programs are associated with formal desegregation plans, and more than a quarter of districts operating under desegregation plans include magnets as part of their plan. More than half of magnet programs are found in large urban districts.

Among the report's highlights:

Outreach Efforts

Magnet districts encourage enrollment through outreach efforts and by providing transportation services. Districts publicize magnet school offerings through brochures and tours of school programs. The study found that districts with magnet schools put more effort into outreach than do districts with other school choice programs, and districts with magnet programs are also more apt to provide transportation to students who change schools (three-quarters of magnet districts provide transportation). More than 60 percent of magnet districts cannot accommodate all students who wish to enroll, and about half of all magnet programs maintain waiting lists.

Integration Efforts

Magnets appear to be effective in attracting opposite race students to magnet schools. One purpose of magnets is to provide incentives for families to remain in public schools and to send their children to integrated schools. In minority-dominant districts, white students comprise 32 percent of magnet students, versus 20 percent of overall district enrollment. In white-dominant districts, minority students comprise 46 percent of magnet students versus 31 percent of district enrollment. Of the students enrolled in magnet programs, about three-quarters transferred outside their neighborhood attendance zone.

Special Population Efforts

Low-income students, those with limited English proficiency, and those in special education are somewhat under-represented in magnet programs relative to their proportions in the district. Their under- representation is more prevalent in high-minority and high-poverty districts, where efforts to reduce minority isolation may increase the enrollment of higher-income students.

Federal Efforts

Between 1985 and 1993, the federal Magnet School Assistance Program provided more than $739 million to 117 school districts to support growth of new magnet programs and expansion of existing programs. More than three-quarters of districts use their funds to start new magnet school programs or to add schools to their existing magnet programs.

The report was prepared under contract for the department by the American Institutes for Research in Palo Alto, Calif. Much of the data was collected through surveys and telephone interviews of a nationally representative sample of 600 school districts.

Single copies of the full report are available free from the Planning and Evaluation Service, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Room 3127, Washington, D.C. 20202.