Brown V. The Board: The Next 50 Years Of Achievement? Empirical Analysis And Projection

Abstract

It's been over 50 years since the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of dismantling the legal basis for racial segregation in our school systems. Many agree that Brown itself was the catalyst for a plethora of decisions which were made to increase the equality of blacks in America, especially in education. But the question still remains what have blacks gained from this ruling? Have they improved their levels of scholastic achievement since 1954? Where are they in comparison to their white counterparts? Researchers have discussed sociological effects of the case, but what quantitatively do the results show? This paper will review empirical comparisons between levels of achievement of blacks and whites, yesterday and today, and make suggestions on how blacks and whites might compare in the next 50 years.