States with highly fragmented school districts have greaterlevels of school segregation

After the relative success of efforts to desegregate them, America’s public schools are becoming increasingly segregated once more with increasing negative effects on student achievement and educational opportunities. Jennifer Ayscue and Gary Orfield argue that much of this trend is due to the fragmentation of school districts across states and metropolitan areas, and that this has mainly been caused by the urbanization of previously rural communities. They argue that in order to address the problems of school segregation, authorities must consider regional strategies such as transfer programs, regional magnet schools, and district consolidation.