A Study of the Immediate Effects of Integration on Scholastic Achievement in the Louisville Public Schools

Abstract

The Supreme Court's decisions banning racial segregation in public schools have given rise to much apprehension. One question being asked over and over is, Will not integration bring about a lowering of scholastic standards in the formerly all-white schools? This concern is more than a mere reflection of prejudice, for there is substantial evidence that the Negro child is behind in achievement as compared with the white pupil and that, if the I.Q. is taken as a measure, he is also at a disadvantage in his capacity to learn. As early as 1913 a study by Marion J. Mayo showed Negro pupils in New York City were retarded to the extent of seven months by the time for entering high school. Mayo further discovered that it required the Negro student 4.5 terms to complete high school as compared with 3.8 terms for the white student.' In 1934 Wilkerson reported an extensive survey covering a number of school systems and concluded that the general achievement of Negro pupils tended to be lower than those of white pupils and