My School District Isn’t Segregated: Experimental Evidence on the Effect of Information on Parental Preferences Regarding School Segregation

Economic school segregation has proven to be a stubbornly persistent feature of public schooling in the United States. In this study, we conduct a nationally representative survey of parents to explore the relationship between beliefs and preferences regarding school segregation. Using experimental manipulation, we test if learning about levels of school segregation in their local school district affects a parent’s attitudes towards school segregation. In doing so, our study helps uncover whether disagreement with respect to segregation-reducing policies stems from differences in parental beliefs about the extent of segregation in their district or from differences in parental preferences given existing levels of segregation. We find that parents hold largely inaccurate beliefs about local segregation levels and on average underestimate the extent to which their school district is economically segregated. However, information treatments that correct inaccurate beliefs do little to influence support for policies to reduce segregation.