School Desegregation and White Flight: An Investigation of Competing Models and Their Discrepant Findings

Abstract

The authors test three alternative models that have been developed to explore the relationship between the desegregation of inner city schools and white flight to the suburbs. The results of these models are discussed using recent, more extensive data. Comparisons of white student loss are made between central city districts that did and did not desegregate. The most appropriate models for analysis of white flight are identified, and their ability to forecast future trends is considered