RACE AND CHOICE IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND, MAGNET SCHOOLS

Analysis of the pattern of requests to transfer into elementary school magnet programs in Montgomery County, Maryland, suggests that the dir ection in which choice points may exacerbate, rather than ameliorate, racial segregation. White families were most likely to request transfe r into schools with low proportions of minorities (which also were tho se located in higher-income neighborhoods), and minority families were more likely to opt for schools in low-income neighborhoods (which als o tended to be schools with higher proportions of minority students). Significantly, this racial pattern held even when other characteristic s of the schools were taken into account. Evidence from parental surve ys suggests that, lacking other sharply defined clues about which scho ols are likely to benefit their children most, both minority and nonmi nority parents fall back on other criteria, including convenience, inf ormal word-of-mouth, and concerns about their child's social integrati on. These criteria, while not racially determined, are racially influe nced. The Montgomery County, Maryland, experience suggests that unfett ered choice has the potential to exacerbate racial separation, even in a relatively liberal and prosperous setting. Choice can be structured so that it promotes racial integration and socioeconomic equality, bu t doing so requires that public officials take strong stands, and ofte n politically unpopular ones.