Prof. Myron Orfield Interviewed by Star Tribune About Disparities in Metro Area High Schools

Professor Myron Orfield was interviewed for a Star Tribune editorial discussing disparities among Twin Cities metro-area schools. The editorial focused on a new study from Minnesota Law’s Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity directed by Orfield. The study showed that segregation has an impact on whether students have access to and are more likely to attend high-quality colleges and universities. The study called the top 30 metro-area schools for college placement “Golden Ticket” schools that send 66% of students to four-year post-secondary schools. At the other end of the spectrum are what the institute labeled “Dead End” schools that send only 12% of students to four-year colleges. Most studies confirm that family income and parental education levels are the primary predictor of who goes to the most elite colleges. But Professor Orfield’s study points out that another predictor is the high school the student attends because of the peers they have and the contacts and attitudes about education that they acquire.