School & District Management

In Short

December 13, 2000 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Students in the Boulder Valley, Colo., district are becoming more racially and academically stratified as a result of the district’s open-enrollment policies, a study concludes.

Researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder said the Boulder Valley schools’ public-school-choice program provides a prime laboratory for study because it touches every school in the system. One-fifth of the district’s 27,500 students take part in the program, which surged in popularity around 1995.

Since then, the researchers found, students have migrated from schools with lower test scores to higher-scoring ones and from schools with high minority populations to mostly white schools. As a result, the number of elementary schools where fewer than half the students are white went from one in 1994 to five last year.

“They’re choosing from a lottery, so it’s not that schools are ‘creaming’ from the pool,” said Kenneth R. Howe, an education professor at the university. He conducted the study with fellow education professor Margaret A. Eisenhart. “It’s that the pool itself is composed of very atypical students.”

As a result, some schools have become weaker, while others have grown stronger. Left with needier students and less funding as a result of lost enrollment, the weakest schools have entered “a spiral of decline” as their enrollments dwindle, the researchers say.

The district’s overall achievement scores, though, have not improved much—contrary to some predictions.

Still, most parents interviewed expressed satisfaction with their children’s schools.

“I think we all feel like it’s a study that needed to be done,” said Judy Stout, the district’s director of elementary education. The study was conducted at the district’s request with backing from the Spencer Foundation in Chicago.

“There have been issues around open enrollment in the community for years, and to have somebody from the outside come and gather information and give information back is very helpful,” Ms. Stout added.

— Debra Viadero

A version of this article appeared in the December 13, 2000 edition of Education Week as In Short

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Opinion The Stunning Resignation of UVA President Jim Ryan—and Why It Matters
The university president’s departure is more than just a headline. It’s a lesson in leadership.
2 min read
Opinion Licensed Not for Reuse Wait What FCG
Canva
School & District Management In Their Own Words This Custodian Got Students to Stop Vandalizing and Take Pride in Their School
Andy Markus, the 2025 Education Support Professional of the Year, helped boost behavior and engagement in his Utah district.
5 min read
Andy Markus, the head custodian at Draper Park Middle School, in Draper, Utah, sits for a portrait during the National Education Association's 2025 Representative Assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 3, 2025. Markus was named the 2025 NEA Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year.
Andy Markus, the head custodian at Draper Park Middle School, in Draper, Utah, sits for a portrait during the National Education Association's 2025 representative assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 3, 2025. Markus was named the 2025 NEA Education Support Professional of the Year for his mentorship of students.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
School & District Management What the Research Says About School Boards: How Much Conflict Really Is There?
Plus, how competitive are board elections? How much do teachers' union endorsements matter?
7 min read
Houston ISD's appointed school board votes on the "District of Innovation" status during their monthly work session meeting at HISD Central Office on Sept. 7, 2023 in Houston.
Houston's appointed school board takes a vote during a meeting on Sept. 7, 2023 in the district's central office. A number of studies from recent years have answered questions about school boards' makeup, how competitive board elections are, whether conflict is on the rise, and more.
Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP
School & District Management Opinion How a Weekly Email to My Staff Made Me a Better District Leader
Writing helps make sense out of what feels messy and focus us on what's most important.
George Philhower
5 min read
Blue hand holding red pen.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty + Education Week