After the Bus Arrives: Resegregation in Desegregated Schools

Data from 5284 fifth‐grade students and 886 teachers in 94 elementary schools are used to examine two aspects of the prevalence and effects of resegregation in desegregated schools. First we explore teacher and school characteristics that affect how teachers organize opportunities for intergroup contact and academic learning in their classrooms. Results suggest that positive attitudes toward integration influence teachers' selection of grouping practices that promote student interaction, such as active learning and equal‐status programs. Negative attitudes toward integration, or teachers' beliefs in separate education for blacks and whites, promote their use of less flexible, resegregative practices, such as tracking and within‐class grouping. Next, with data from teachers and students, we investigate whether different classroom organizations influence black and white students' achievement and behavior. Multiple regression analyses show that, with other important student, teacher, and classroom structures controlled, less resegregative classroom structures are more advantageous for black students' achievement. There is higher black achievement in classrooms using equal‐status programs, cooperative activities, or flexible tracking.