School Integration and the Academic Achievement of Negroes

A survey of 1,600 adult Negroes living in northern metropolitan areas finds that those who attended integrated schools are more likely to have graduated from high school, are more likely to have attended college, and score higher on a verbal test than those who attended northern segregated schools. It seems likely that the higher achievement of Negroes in integrated schools can be attributed partly to differences in the character of their classmates, irrespective of race. In addition, however, there is evidence that attending integrated schools has an important impact in establishing social and psychological preconditions for achievement.