Cleveland Fed research: K–12 Schools in Ohio Are Separate and Unequal

Black and white K-12 students in Ohio are typically educated in separate schools that are highly unequal, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Program on Economic Inclusion.

A few key statistics from the report, “K–12 Schools in Ohio Are Separate and Unequal”:

• 53% of Black students attend majority Black schools.
• Less than 2% of white students attend majority Black schools.
• Half of Black students attend schools where the average test score would rank in the bottom 5 percent of schools attended by white students (see chart below).

Test scores don’t capture all learning and may not represent a school’s casual impact, but they do to a large degree predict labor market outcomes, according to research papers cited in the report. The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland conducts research related to economic inclusion and its impact on the labor market as part of its statutory mandate to pursue both maximum employment and price stability.

Read the Economic Commentary: K–12 Schools in Ohio Are Separate and Unequal

Related research and insights: The Program on Economic Inclusion