assumptions and the Title I element of NCLB. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling of population data
for all public elementary schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg district, this research explores whether
race-gender achievement gaps are ameliorated or exacerbated following a unitary court declaration and
whether neoclassical theoretical assumptions are supported or not. Although the neoclassical school
choice model require a truly free market, which is difficult to produce in reality, this case study of CMS,
which recently ceased court ordered desegregation and implemented a market based choice plan, provides
a unique example, outside of the theoretical realm to study the effectiveness of school choice and the Title
I provision of NCLB (2002).
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Case Study
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School (CMS) district has a long and unique history in American
public education. In Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg (1971) the United States Supreme Court upheld a
lower court decision by Judge James McMillan which found that the county could use busing as a means
to racially integrate public schools (Weisbrot 1991, Mickelson 2001, Smith 2004). Based on Judge
McMillan’s rulings, CMS designed a pupil assignment plan so that ideally, every elementary school
would have a student population within 15 percent of the school districts percent black, and secondary
schools were designed so that no more than 50 percent of a school’s students were African American
(Mickelson 2001, Smith 2004).
From about 1974 to 1992, CMS used mandatory busing for racial balance (Smith 2004). As a
result of the mandatory busing, most students, both white and black, spent a almost all of their education
in desegregated schools (Mickelson 2001). However, in 1992, mandatory busing for desegregation was
replaced by a voluntary desegregation plan built around controlled choice among magnet schools. After
being declared unitary in 1999, the CMS devised a new plan for student assignment in 2001. Local
politics and the national trend towards choice and removal of government influence over school systems
informed the nature of the plan. During the 2002 - 2003 school year, CMS implemented their Family
Choice Plan. The Family Choice Plan called for the division of the district into four zones, which gave
parents a “choice” as to which school their children will attend. Each child was assigned a home school
and was given the option of choosing another school within their zone. The district then assigned
Convention