Disparities in accessibility of public high schools, in metropolitan Baton Rouge, Louisiana 1990–2010

In this study, we use a Geographic Information System-based index to measure spatial accessibility of public high schools. The index is applied to the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area in 1990, 2000, and 2010. Overall, urban areas had consistently worse accessibility scores compared with suburban and rural areas. High schools with more African American students tended to have poorer accessibility levels. Schools with lower accessibility tended to be associated with poorer average student performance, and the effect strengthened between 2000 and 2010. In developing a better understanding of the accessibility of public high schools, this paper reaffirms the significance of space, place, and race, and challenges the notion of declining relevance of accessibility in Louisiana public education policymaking.