A Texas city magnet program: 1981-82 evaluation materials and results

Abstract

In order to promote voluntary integration in two high schools and a middle school, the Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas developed a magnet program that offers specialized curricula: engineering at the all black Dunbar High School, finance at the predominantly black Polytechnic High School, and communications at Dunbar Middle School. This report presents evaluation results for the first two years of the program (1981-82 and 1982-83). The evaluation investigated program admission criteria, changes in school racial composition, participant characteristics, student achievement, program curricula, and attitudes of teachers, students, and parents toward the program. Findings indicated that: (1) the quality of students admitted to the program improved between 1981-82 and 1982-83; (2) the schools' racial balance shifted from predominantly black to racial ratios that more closely resemble the district ratio; and (3) progress in achieving academic test score gains has been slow, but achievement levels are rising. The report includes several tables of data on student characteristics and achievement, and presents results of interviews with teachers, parents, and students involved in the program. (MJL)