Data Scavenger Hunt

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above:

1. What percentage of White students attend public schools where over half of the students are White?

2. What percentage of White students attend public schools where over 90% of the students are White?

3. What percentage of White students attend public schools where over 90% of the students are non-White?

4. What racial or ethnic group in America is most likely to attend a school with students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds?

5. What conclusion can you draw about American schools and diversity?

   Big Brain Questions

   Answer these questions by yourself using your brain and the links below:

6. Before Brown v. Board of Education (1954), by law, most students (especially students in the South) were forced to attend segregated schools. In fact, had the chart above existed in 1954, almost 100% for White and Black children would have gone to school with only students of their own racial and ethnic background. Why do you think that even 50+ years after Brown v. Board, 78% of White students still go to majority White schools?

7. We are now over a half-century past Brown v. Board. What do you imagine the data from the chart above will look like in 50 more years?

8. In 1896, in Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” (which meant segregation of schools, movie theaters, train cars, water fountains, swimming pools, and many public aspects of life) was constitutional. 58 years later, Brown v. Board struck down the Separate but Equal doctrine, ruling that segregation was unconstitutional. How successful has Brown v. Board been at integrating American schools?

9. Many, but not all Americans supported the Plessy ruling and the American segregation of 1896. By 1954, when Brown v. Board outlawed racial discrimination in schools, many Americans were opposed to segregation. What had changed in those intervening 58 years in American culture and society that led many Americans to oppose strict American racial segregation and apartheid by 1950.

10. Describe the demographics of your current school and explain how it would fit on the chart above.

Write and Discuss

Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.

Act on your Learning

Research the demographics of your school to see how they compare to the chart above. Share your findings with your local news outlet.

Get Creative

Imagine that you wanted to write an essay to argue that American schools should be more integrated. What principle of American government might support your argument for integrated schools?

Learn More

Read the entire Pew Report: U.S. public school students often go to schools where at least half of their peers are the same race or ethnicity.