Since 1970 increasing percentages of Black students have enrolled in all types of private schools in diverse, though predominantly urban, regions of the nation. Since more than 90 percent of all Black students receive instruction in public schools, it is perhaps not surprising that researchers have paid scant attention to the educational status of the minority who have attended independently funded schools. The authors of this book present the first systematic treatment of the subject, looking at all aspects of the educational experiences of the Black children in private and parochial...

Closing the K-12 achievement gap is critical to the future welfare of African American individuals, families, and communities--and to the future of our nation as a whole. The black-white academic achievement gap--the significant statistical difference in academic performance between African American students and their white peers--is the single greatest impediment to achieving racial equality and social justice in America.

"Black Educational Choice" provides parents, citizens, educators, and policymakers the critical knowledge they need to leverage the national trend toward increasing...