CPS: New admissions policy has little effect on diversity

CPS: New admissions policy has little effect on diversity
Azam Ahmed, Chicago Tribune, July 20, 2010

An overhaul in the admissions process for selective public schools across the city had little impact on overall diversity, Chicago school officials said this morning.

The new process came on the heels of the dismissal of a federal requirement to racially integrate, meaning that for the most competitive schools in the city, race would no longer be used to determine who got in.

Instead, the district chose to look at socioeconomic factors like income, native language and home ownership rates in hopes of maintaining diversity at the schools. Preliminary data gathered after the pilot program began indicates that it worked, officials say.

However, those figures do not include school level data, which will likely show more abrupt swings due to the city’s inherent segregation. (Read the full article)