At Risk Children in Resegregated Schools: An Analysis of the Achievement Gap.

Historically, political and social forces have strategically converged to directly influence the formulation and implementation of education policies that seek to equalize educational opportunities for members of minority groups. Such has been the case with school desegregation efforts. Since the 1954 Brown Decision, powerful interest groups have sought and secured the assistance of the courts in providing legal support in abandoning desegregation initiatives. Unfortunately, fifty years after Brown, legal scholars and social scientists continue to debate the merits of school desegregation mandates. As the debate intensifies, desegregation policies continue to be scrutinized and quietly dismantled. As we watch, the public schools resegregate, it is obvious that the promises of Brown have not been fulfilled. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the achievement gap between resegregated and desegregated schools in the city of Norfolk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]