Chapter one of this study of the education of minorities in the United States delineates the past record of the educational system in equating the educational levels of whites and minorities. It also sets the background of the educational system in terms of the dynamics of urban areas and the financial problems faced by school systems. Within chapter two, the basic concepts of production relationships for education are described. Such input-output relationships provide a basic method for organizing what we know about the educational process. From a production function, it is possible to make decisions about educational policy. This chapter both describes the decision rules which administrators should use and presents a conceptual model of the educational process. Chapters three through five illustrate how data from the past operations of the school system can be used to gain insights into the educational process. Statistical models representing the educational process in elementary schools are developed. Chapter six looks into the question of school desegregation in some detail. The implications of racial and ethnic composition in earlier chapters are related to current discussions of the educational value of desegregation. Finally, an attempt is made in chapter seven to outline how such an analysis provides inputs to the educational decision maker. CONTENTS Chapter 1. Topics in Public Education   Resource Allocation 2   Distribution of Educational Services 4   Production Functions for Education 7   Directions of Analysis 8 Chapter 2. A Conceptual Model of the Educational Process   A Simple Decision Rule 12   Educational Production Functions 15   A Conceptual Model 16   The Output of Education 20      Skill Aspects of Education 20      Socialization Aspects of Education 23   Joint Production 26   Inputs to Education 26      Family Background 27      Peer Group Inputs 28      Initial Endowments 29      School Factors 31   Functional Form 32   The Conceptual Model 33 Chapter 3. Single System, Individual Student Analysis   Measuring a School System 36   Do Teachers Count? 38   Efficiency Aspects of Schools 40   Characteristics of Teachers 42   White, Manual Occupation 43   White, Nonmanual Occupation     Inconsequential Inputs     Single System Conclusions   Chapter 4. Multisystem Analysis-White Education   Model Modification and Sample Data 53   Educational Production Functions for White Sixth Graders 58   Central Cities 61   Family Background 62   Pre-School 65   Migration 66   Attitudes 67   School Effects 69   Black Concentration 73   Facilities 74   The Education of Whites 76 Chapter 5. Multisystem Analysis-Black Education   Black Sample 78   Educational Production Functions for Black Sixth Graders 79   Some Minor Differences 81   Family Background and Attitudes 83   The Effect of Schools 86   Racial Composition 89   Miscellany 91   The Education of Blacks 92 Chapter 6. Race and Public Education   The Problem-Socialization Aspects 97   The Narrow Analysis of Segregation 99   Incomplete Models of Education 100   A Qualification 104   Desegregation and Educational Policy 105 Chapter 7. Summary and Beyond   The Findings 108   Implications for Policy-Resource Allocation 111      Hiring Teachers 112      Teacher Accountability 114   Implications for Policy-The Distribution of Educational Services 115      Compensatory Education 116      School Desegregation 117      Community Control of Schools 120      Restructuring Options 121      A Synthesis 122   Needed Information 123   A Final Word 124 Appendix The OE Survey DataNotes Bibliography Index List of Tables   1-1 Approval on School Bond Elections, 1962-1970 1-2 Achievement Differentials by Race and Region; Average Grade Levels Behind the Average White in the Metropolitan Northeast, Verbal Ability 3-1 F-Statistics for Null Hypothesis of Uniform Teacher Effects 3.2 Tests for Significant Effect of Pay Parameters 3-3 Variable Definitions, Means and Standard Deviations-White Manual Occupation Model 3-4 Simple Correlations for Teacher Characteristics-White Manual Sample 3-5 Variable Definitions, Means and Standard Deviations-Nonmanual Occupation Model 4-1 Distribution of White Schools by Percentage of Sixth Graders Who are Black 4-2 Variable Definitions for the White Educational Production Functions 4-3 Means and Standard Deviations for Variables in the White Educational Production Functions 5-1 Distribution of Black Schools by Percentage of Sixth Graders Who Are Black 5-2 Variable Definitions for the Black Educational Production Functions 5-3 Means and Standard Deviations for Variables in the Black Educational Production Functions 5-4 Facility Characteristics of Elementary Schools for Blacks and Whites-Metropolitan Northeast and Midwest 6-1 Distribution of Black Students by Minority Enrollment in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1968 7-1 Public Elementary and Secondary SchoolsPercentage Distribution of Classroom Teachers, By Experience and Degrees Held: 1970