Bio


My research investigates the causes, patterns, trends, and consequences of social and educational inequality. In particular, I study issues of residential and school segregation and of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in academic achievement and educational success. In addition, my work develops methods of measuring social and educational inequality (including the measurement of segregation and achievement gaps) and methods of causal inference in educational and social science research.

Academic Appointments


Honors & Awards


  • Elected Member, The American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • Elected Member, National Academy of Education

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Director, Stanford Interdisciplinary Doctoral Training Program in Quantitative Education Policy Analysis (2009 - 2021)
  • Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Education (2004 - Present)
  • Assistant Professor, The Pennsylvania State University (1999 - 2004)

Program Affiliations


  • Public Policy

Professional Education


  • Ed.D., Harvard Graduate School of Education, Educational Administration, Planning, and Social Policy (1997)
  • M.Ed., Harvard Graduate School of Education, Educational Administration, Planning and Social Policy (1992)
  • M.A., University of Notre Dame, International Peace Studies (1991)
  • B.A., University of Notre Dame, Program of Liberal Studies; Minor in Honors Mathematics (1986)

Research Interests


  • Achievement
  • Data Sciences
  • Diversity and Identity
  • Economics and Education
  • Educational Policy
  • Poverty and Inequality
  • Sociology

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


The causes and patterns of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic achievement disparities;

The effects of school integration policies on segregation patterns and educational outcomes;

Income inequality and its educational and social consequences.

http://cepa.stanford.edu/sean-reardon

Projects


  • An ongoing study of the patterns of achievement and achievement gaps in every school district in the U.S.

    I am currently working on an ongoing study of the patterns of achievement and achievement gaps in every school district in the U.S.

    Location

    United States

    For More Information:

2023-24 Courses


Stanford Advisees


All Publications


  • It Is Surprisingly Difficult to Measure Income Segregation. Demography Leung-Gagne, J., Reardon, S. F. 2023

    Abstract

    Recent studies have shown that U.S. Census- and American Community Survey (ACS)-based estimates of income segregation are subject to upward finite sampling bias (Logan et al. 2018; Logan et al. 2020; Reardon etal. 2018). We identify two additional sources of bias that are larger and opposite in sign to finite sampling bias: measurement error-induced attenuation bias and temporal pooling bias. The combination of these three sources of bias make it unclear how income segregation has trended. We formalize the three types of bias, providing a method to correct them simultaneously using public data from the decennial census and ACS from 1990 to 2015-2019. We use these methods to produce bias-corrected estimates of income segregation in the United States from 1990 to 2019. We find that (1) segregation is on the order of 50% greater than previously believed; (2) the increase from 2000 to the 2005-2009 period was much greater than indicated by previous estimates; and (3) segregation has declined since 2005-2009. Correcting these biases requires good estimates of the reliability of self-reported income and of the year-to-year volatility in neighborhood mean incomes.

    View details for DOI 10.1215/00703370-10932629

    View details for PubMedID 37605929

  • Uneven Progress: Recent Trends in Academic Performance Among US School Districts AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL Matheny, K. T., Thompson, M. E., Townley-Flores, C., Reardon, S. F. 2023
  • Why School Desegregation Still Matters (a Lot) EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP Reardon, S. F., Fahle, E., Jang, H., Weathers, E. 2023; 80 (4): 38-44
  • School racial segregation and long-term cardiovascular health among black adults in the US: A quasi-experimental study. PLoS medicine Kim, M. H., Schwartz, G. L., White, J. S., Glymour, M. M., Reardon, S. F., Kershaw, K. N., Gomez, S. L., Collin, D. F., Inamdar, P., Wang, G., Hamad, R. 2022; 19 (6): e1004031

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) disproportionately affects United States black adults. This is increasingly acknowledged to be due to inequitable distribution of health-promoting resources. One potential contributor is inequities in educational opportunities, although it is unclear what aspects of education are most salient. School racial segregation may affect cardiovascular health by increasing stress, constraining socioeconomic opportunities, and altering health behaviors. We investigated the association between school segregation and black adults' CVD risk.METHODS AND FINDINGS: We leveraged a natural experiment created by quasi-random (i.e., arbitrary) timing of local court decisions since 1991 that released school districts from court-ordered desegregation. We used the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) (1991 to 2017), linked with district-level school segregation measures and desegregation court order status. The sample included 1,053 black participants who ever resided in school districts that were under a court desegregation order in 1991. The exposure was mean school segregation during observed schooling years. Outcomes included several adult CVD risk factors and outcomes. We fitted standard ordinary least squares (OLS) multivariable linear regression models, then conducted instrumental variables (IV) analysis, using the proportion of schooling years spent in districts that had been released from court-ordered desegregation as an instrument. We adjusted for individual- and district-level preexposure confounders, birth year, and state fixed effects. In standard linear models, school segregation was associated with a lower probability of good self-rated health (-0.05 percentage points per SD of the segregation index; 95% CI: -0.08, -0.03; p < 0.001) and a higher probability of binge drinking (0.04 percentage points; 95% CI: 0.002, 0.07; p = 0.04) and heart disease (0.01 percentage points; 95% CI: 0.002, 0.15; p = 0.007). IV analyses also found that school segregation was associated with a lower probability of good self-rated health (-0.09 percentage points; 95% CI: -0.17, -0.02, p = 0.02) and a higher probability of binge drinking (0.17 percentage points; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.30, p = 0.008). For IV estimates, only binge drinking was robust to adjustments for multiple hypothesis testing. Limitations included self-reported outcomes and potential residual confounding and exposure misclassification.CONCLUSIONS: School segregation exposure in childhood may have longstanding impacts on black adults' cardiovascular health. Future research should replicate these analyses in larger samples and explore potential mechanisms. Given the recent rise in school segregation, this study has implications for policies and programs to address racial inequities in CVD.

    View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004031

    View details for PubMedID 35727819

  • The Geography of Rural Educational Opportunity RSF-THE RUSSELL SAGE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES Drescher, J., Podolskyo, A., Reardon, S. F., Torrance, G. 2022; 8 (3): 123-149
  • School Racial Segregation and the Health of Black Children. Pediatrics Wang, G., Schwartz, G. L., Kim, M. H., White, J. S., Glymour, M. M., Reardon, S., Kershaw, K. N., Gomez, S. L., Inamdar, P. P., Hamad, R. 2022

    Abstract

    OBJECTIVES: Few researchers have evaluated whether school racial segregation, a key manifestation of structural racism, affects child health, despite its potential impacts on school quality, social networks, and stress from discrimination. We investigated whether school racial segregation affects Black children's health and health behaviors.METHODS: We estimated the association of school segregation with child health, leveraging a natural experiment in which school districts in recent years experienced increased school segregation. School segregation was operationalized as the Black-White dissimilarity index. We used ordinary least squares models as well as quasi-experimental instrumental variables analysis, which can reduce bias from unobserved confounders. Data from the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1997-2014, n = 1248 Black children) were linked with district-level school segregation measures. Multivariable regressions were adjusted for individual-, neighborhood-, and district-level covariates. We also performed subgroup analyses by child sex and age.RESULTS: In instrumental variables models, a one standard deviation increase in school segregation was associated with increased behavioral problems (2.53 points on a 27-point scale; 95% CI, 0.26 to 4.80), probability of having ever drunk alcohol (0.23; 95% CI, 0.049 to 0.42), and drinking at least monthly (0.20; 95% CI, 0.053 to 0.35). School segregation was more strongly associated with drinking behaviors among girls.CONCLUSIONS: School segregation was associated with worse outcomes on several measures of well-being among Black children, which may contribute to health inequities across the life span. These results highlight the need to promote school racial integration and support Black youth attending segregated schools.

    View details for DOI 10.1542/peds.2021-055952

    View details for PubMedID 35434734

  • Validation Methods for Aggregate-Level Test Scale Linking: A Rejoinder JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS Ho, A. D., Reardon, S. F., Kalogrides, D. 2021; 46 (2): 209–18
  • Increases in income-related disparities in early elementary school obesity, 1998-2014. Academic pediatrics Latham, S., Finch, J., Reardon, S., Waldfogel, J. 2020

    Abstract

    OBJECTIVE: Research shows that population-level rates of obesity, which rose dramatically from the 1970s through the mid-2000s, have since plateaued or even started to decline. However, overall improvements may mask differences in trends for different subgroups. For instance, obesity rates have continued to climb among low-income adolescents, leading to growing income-related gaps in obesity. By comparison, we know little about whether income-related disparities have also changed among elementary school children. To address this gap, we examined two cohorts of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten cohort, which followed children entering school in 1998 and 2010. We hypothesized that income-related disparities in obesity have also grown larger over time among young children.METHODS: We used data from nationally-representative samples of children who entered kindergarten in 1998 and 2010. We documented rates of overweight and obesity from kindergarten through third grade, examined how rates differed for children from high and low-income families, and tested whether income-related disparities changed over time.RESULTS: Rates of overweight and obesity were 2 to 5 percentage points higher in the later cohort, and overall increases masked substantial variation by income. Specifically, these increases were driven by children in lower-income households, resulting in substantially larger income-related disparities in overweight and obesity in the later cohort.CONCLUSION: As we hypothesized, income-related disparities in young children's obesity grew between 1998 and 2014. This suggests that efforts to curb increasing rates of obesity may have been more successful for high-income families. We discuss potential mechanisms that may account for increasing disparities.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.acap.2020.11.021

    View details for PubMedID 33279735

  • Using Pooled Heteroskedastic Ordered Probit Models to Improve Small-Sample Estimates of Latent Test Score Distributions JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS Shear, B. R., Reardon, S. F. 2020
  • Racial Segregation and School Poverty in the United States, 1999-2016 RACE AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS Fahle, E. M., Reardon, S. F., Kalogrides, D., Weathers, E. S., Jang, H. 2020
  • Lessons from New York City's Small Schools of Choice about High School Features that Promote Graduation for Disadvantaged Students JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT Bloom, H. S., Unterman, R., Zhu, P., Reardon, S. F. 2020

    View details for DOI 10.1002/pam.22192

    View details for Web of Science ID 000505549000001

  • Gender Achievement Gaps in US School Districts AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL Reardon, S. F., Fahle, E. M., Kalogrides, D., Podolsky, A., Zarate, R. C. 2019; 56 (6): 2474–2508
  • Validation Methods for Aggregate-Level Test Scale Linking: A Case Study Mapping School District Test Score Distributions to a Common Scale JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS Reardon, S. F., Kalogrides, D., Ho, A. D. 2019
  • States as Sites of Educational (In)Equality: State Contexts and the Socioeconomic Achievement Gradient. AERA open Jang, H., Reardon, S. F. 2019; 5 (3): 1-22

    Abstract

    Socioeconomic achievement gaps have long been a central focus of educational research. However, not much is known about how (and why) between-district gaps vary among states, even though states are a primary organizational level in the decentralized education system in the United States. Using data from the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA), this study describes state-level socioeconomic achievement gradients and the growth of these gradients from Grades 3 to 8. We also examine state-level correlates of the gradients and their growth, including school system funding equity, preschool enrollment patterns, the distribution of teachers, income inequality, and segregation. We find that socioeconomic gradients and their growth rates vary considerably among states, and that between-district income segregation is positively associated with the socioeconomic achievement gradient.

    View details for DOI 10.1177/2332858419872459

    View details for PubMedID 32832579

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7413034

  • States as Sites of Educational (In)Equality: State Contexts and the Socioeconomic Achievement Gradient AERA OPEN Jang, H., Reardon, S. F. 2019; 5 (3)
  • From Census Tracts to Local Environments: An Egocentric Approach to Neighborhood Racial Change SPATIAL DEMOGRAPHY Lee, B. A., Farrell, C. R., Reardon, S. F., Matthews, S. A. 2019; 7 (1): 1–26
  • From Census Tracts to Local Environments: An Egocentric Approach to Neighborhood Racial Change. Spatial demography Lee, B. A., Farrell, C. R., Reardon, S. F., Matthews, S. A. 2019; 7 (1): 1-26

    Abstract

    Most quantitative studies of neighborhood racial change rely on census tracts as the unit of analysis. However, tracts are insensitive to variation in the geographic scale of the phenomenon under investigation and to proximity among a focal tract's residents and those in nearby territory. Tracts may also align poorly with residents' perceptions of their own neighborhood and with the spatial reach of their daily activities. To address these limitations, we propose that changes in racial structure (i.e., in overall diversity and group-specific proportions) be examined within multiple egocentric neighborhoods, a series of nested local environments surrounding each individual that approximate meaningful domains of experience. Our egocentric approach applies GIS procedures to census block data, using race-specific population densities to redistribute block counts of whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians across 50-meter by 50-meter cells. For each cell, we then compute the proximity-adjusted racial composition of four different-sized local environments based on the weighted average racial group counts in adjacent cells. The value of this approach is illustrated with 1990-2000 data from a previous study of 40 large metropolitan areas. We document exposure to increasing neighborhood racial diversity during the decade, although the magnitude of this increase in diversity-and of shifts in the particular races to which one is exposed-differs by local environment size and racial group membership. Changes in diversity exposure at the neighborhood level also depend on how diverse the metro area as a whole has become.

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s40980-018-0044-5

    View details for PubMedID 31223641

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6585458

  • Editors' Note on Transparency and Reporting Standards INTRODUCTION JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Reardon, S. F., Stuart, E. A. 2019; 12 (1): 1–4
  • Educational Opportunity in Early and Middle Childhood: Using Full Population Administrative Data to Study Variation by Place and Age. The Russell Sage Foundation journal of the social sciences : RSF Reardon, S. F. 2019; 5 (2): 40–68

    Abstract

    I use standardized test scores from roughly forty-five million students to describe the temporal structure of educational opportunity in more than eleven thousand school districts in the United States. Variation among school districts is considerable in both average third-grade scores and test score growth rates. The two measures are uncorrelated, indicating that the characteristics of communities that provide high levels of early childhood educational opportunity are not the same as those that provide high opportunities for growth from third to eighth grade. This suggests that the role of schools in shaping educational opportunity varies across school districts. Variation among districts in the two temporal opportunity dimensions implies that strategies to improve educational opportunity may need to target different age groups in different places.

    View details for DOI 10.7758/RSF.2019.5.2.03

    View details for PubMedID 31168469

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6545991

  • The Geography of Racial/Ethnic Test Score Gaps(1) AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY Reardon, S. F., Kalogrides, D., Shores, K. 2019; 124 (4): 1164–1221

    View details for DOI 10.1086/700678

    View details for Web of Science ID 000460582700005

  • Has Income Segregation Really Increased? Bias and Bias Correction in Sample-Based Segregation Estimates DEMOGRAPHY Reardon, S. F., Bischoff, K., Owens, A., Townsend, J. B. 2018; 55 (6): 2129-2160
  • Has Income Segregation Really Increased? Bias and Bias Correction in Sample-Based Segregation Estimates. Demography Reardon, S. F., Bischoff, K., Owens, A., Townsend, J. B. 2018

    Abstract

    Several recent studies have concluded that residential segregation by income in the United States has increased in the decades since 1970, including a significant increase after 2000. Income segregation measures, however, are biased upward when based on sample data. This is a potential concern because the sampling rate of the American Community Survey (ACS)-from which post-2000 income segregation estimates are constructed-was lower than that of the earlier decennial censuses. Thus, the apparent increase in income segregation post-2000 may simply reflect larger upward bias in the estimates from the ACS, and the estimated trend may therefore be inaccurate. In this study, we first derive formulas describing the approximate sampling bias in two measures of segregation. Next, using Monte Carlo simulations, we show that the bias-corrected estimators eliminate virtually all of the bias in segregation estimates in most cases of practical interest, although the correction fails to eliminate bias in some cases when the population is unevenly distributed among geographic units and the average within-unit samples are very small. We then use the bias-corrected estimators to produce unbiased estimates of the trends in income segregation over the last four decades in large U.S. metropolitan areas. Using these corrected estimates, we replicate the central analyses in four prior studies on income segregation. We find that the primary conclusions from these studies remain unchanged, although the true increase in income segregation among families after 2000 was only half as large as that reported in earlier work. Despite this revision, our replications confirm that income segregation has increased sharply in recent decades among families with children and that income inequality is a strong and consistent predictor of income segregation.

    View details for PubMedID 30328018

  • What Levels of Racial Diversity Can Be Achieved with Socioeconomic-Based Affirmative Action? Evidence from a Simulation Model JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT Reardon, S. F., Baker, R., Kasman, M., Klasik, D., Townsend, J. B. 2018; 37 (3): 630-+

    View details for DOI 10.1002/pam.22056

    View details for Web of Science ID 000434973000009

  • The Relationship Between Test Item Format and Gender Achievement Gaps on Math and ELA Tests in Fourth and Eighth Grades EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER Reardon, S. F., Kalogrides, D., Fahle, E. M., Podolsky, A., Zarate, R. C. 2018; 47 (5): 284–94
  • How Much Do Test Scores Vary Among School Districts? New Estimates Using Population Data, 2009-2015 EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER Fahle, E. M., Reardon, S. F. 2018; 47 (4): 221–34
  • Long-term trends in private school enrollments by family income AERA Open Murnane, R. J., Reardon, S. F. 2018; 4 (1): 2332858417751355
  • Long-Term Trends in Private School Enrollments by Family Income AERA OPEN Murnane, R. J., Reardon, S. F. 2018; 4 (1)
  • Race and Stratification in College Enrollment Over Time AERA OPEN Baker, R., Klasik, D., Reardon, S. F. 2018; 4 (1)
  • Race and stratification in college enrollment over time AERA Open Baker, R., Klasik, D., Reardon, S. F. 2018; 4 (1): 2332858417751896
  • Using Heteroskedastic Ordered Probit Models to Recover Moments of Continuous Test Score Distributions From Coarsened Data JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS Reardon, S. F., Shear, B. R., Castellano, K. E., Ho, A. D. 2017; 42 (1): 3-45
  • A Continuous Measure of the Joint Distribution of Race and Income Among Neighborhoods RSF-THE RUSSELL SAGE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES Reardon, S. F., Townsend, J., Fox, L. 2017; 3 (2): 34-62
  • Estimating Causal Effects of Education Interventions Using a Two-Rating Regression Discontinuity Design: Lessons From a Simulation Study and an Application JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Porter, K. E., Reardon, S. F., Unlu, F., Bloom, H. S., Cimpian, J. R. 2017; 10 (1): 138-167
  • Moving Education Science Forward by Leaps and Bounds: The Need for Interdisciplinary Approaches to Improving Children's Educational Trajectories JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Morris, P. A., Reardon, S. F. 2017; 10 (1): 1-6
  • Can Socioeconomic Status Substitute for Race in Affirmative Action College Admissions Policies? Evidence From a Simulation Model UCLA: The Civil Rights Project / Proyecto Derechos Civiles Reardon, S. F., Baker, R., Kasman, M., Klasik, D., Townsend, J. B. 2017
  • The Geography of Racial/Ethnic Test Score Gaps. CEPA Working Paper No. 16-10. Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis Reardon, S. F., Kalogrides, D., Shores, K. 2017
  • A continuous measure of the joint distribution of race and income among neighborhoods RSF Reardon, S. F., Townsend, J., Fox, L. 2017
  • Editors' Introduction: Theme Issue on Variation in Treatment Effects INTRODUCTION JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Reardon, S. F., Stuart, E. A. 2017; 10 (4): 671–74
  • Income Segregation Between Schools and School Districts AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL Owens, A., Reardon, S. F., Jencks, C. 2016; 53 (4): 1159-1197
  • Patterns of Cross-National Variation in the Association Between Income and Academic Achievement AERA OPEN Chmielewski, A. K., Reardon, S. F. 2016; 2 (3)
  • Recent Trends in Income, Racial, and Ethnic School Readiness Gaps at Kindergarten Entry AERA OPEN Reardon, S. F., Portilla, X. A. 2016; 2 (3)
  • Socioeconomic Gaps in Early Childhood Experiences: 1998 to 2010 AERA OPEN Bassok, D., Finch, J. E., Lee, R., Reardon, S. F., Waldfogel, J. 2016; 2 (3)
  • The Promise of Two-Language Education EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP Umansky, I. M., Valentino, R. A., Reardon, S. F. 2016; 73 (5): 11-17
  • Agent-Based Simulation Models of the College Sorting Process JASSS-THE JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL SOCIETIES AND SOCIAL SIMULATION Reardon, S., Kasman, M., Klasik, D., Baker, R. 2016; 19 (1)
  • Recent trends in income, racial, and ethnic school readiness gaps at kindergarten entry AERA Open Reardon, S. F., Portilla, X. A. 2016; 2 (3): 2332858416657343
  • Patterns of cross-national variation in the association between income and academic achievement AERA Open Chmielewski, A. K., Reardon, S. F. 2016; 2 (3): 2332858416649593
  • Socioeconomic gaps in early childhood experiences: 1998 to 2010 AERA Open Bassok, D., Finch, J. E., Lee, R., Reardon, S. F., Waldfogel, J. 2016; 2 (3): 2332858416653924
  • Effectiveness of Four Instructional Programs Designed to Serve English Learners: Variation by Ethnicity and Initial English Proficiency EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS Valentino, R. A., Reardon, S. F. 2015; 37 (4): 612-637
  • Neighborhood Income Composition by Household Race and Income, 1990-2009 ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE Reardon, S. F., Fox, L., Townsend, J. 2015; 660 (1): 78-97
  • Practical Issues in Estimating Achievement Gaps From Coarsened Data JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS Reardon, S. F., Ho, A. D. 2015; 40 (2): 158-189
  • Reclassification Patterns Among Latino English Learner Students in Bilingual, Dual Immersion, and English Immersion Classrooms AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL Umansky, I. M., Reardon, S. F. 2014; 51 (5): 879-912
  • Bias and Bias Correction in Multisite Instrumental Variables Analysis of Heterogeneous Mediator Effects JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS Reardon, S. F., Unlu, F., Zhu, P., Bloom, H. S. 2014; 39 (1): 53-86
  • 60 Years After Brown: Trends and Consequences of School Segregation ANNUAL REVIEW OF SOCIOLOGY, VOL 40 Reardon, S. F., Owens, A. 2014; 40: 199-218
  • Inequality matters William T. Grant Foundation Paper, New York: William T. Grant Foundation Carter, P. L., Reardon, S. F. 2014
  • Residential segregation by income, 1970-2009 Diversity and disparities: America enters a new century Bischoff, K., Reardon, S. F. 2014; 43
  • "Academic Redshirting" in Kindergarten: Prevalence, Patterns, and Implications EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS Bassok, D., Reardon, S. F. 2013; 35 (3): 283-297
  • The Widening Income Achievement Gap EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP Reardon, S. F. 2013; 70 (8): 10-16
  • Under What Assumptions Do Site-by-Treatment Instruments Identify Average Causal Effects? SOCIOLOGICAL METHODS & RESEARCH Reardon, S. F., Raudenbush, S. W. 2013; 42 (2): 143-163
  • No rich child left behind New York Times Reardon, S. F. 2013; 4 (28): 13
  • Education and Inequality OCCUPY THE FUTURE Reardon, S. F., Grusky, D. B., McAdam, D., Reich, R., Satz, D. 2013: 89–97
  • Patterns of Literacy among U.S. Students FUTURE OF CHILDREN Reardon, S. F., Valentino, R. A., Shores, K. A. 2012; 22 (2): 17-37

    Abstract

    How well do U.S. students read? In this article, Sean Reardon, Rachel Valentino, and Kenneth Shores rely on studies using data from national and international literacy assessments to answer this question. In part, the answer depends on the specific literacy skills assessed. The authors show that almost all U.S. students can "read" by third grade, if reading is defined as proficiency in basic procedural word-reading skills. But reading for comprehension--integrating background knowledge and contextual information to make sense of a text--requires a set of knowledge-based competencies in addition to word-reading skills. By the standards used in various large-scale literacy assessments, only about a third of U.S. students in middle school possess the knowledge-based competencies to "read" in this more comprehensive sense. This low level of literacy proficiency does not appear to be a result of declining performance over time. Literacy skills of nine-year-olds in the United States have increased modestly over the past forty years, while the skills of thirteen- and seventeen-year-olds have remained relatively flat. Literacy skills vary considerably among students, however. For example, the literacy skills of roughly 10 percent of seventeen-year-olds are at the level of the typical nine-year-old. This variation is patterned in part by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background. Black and Hispanic students enter high school with average literacy skills three years behind those of white and Asian students; students from low-income families enter high school with average literacy skills five years behind those of high-income students. These are gaps that no amount of remedial instruction in high school is likely to eliminate. And while the racial and ethnic disparities are smaller than they were forty to fifty years ago, socioeconomic disparities in literacy skills are growing. Nor is the low level of literacy skills particularly a U.S. phenomenon. On international comparisons, American students perform modestly above average compared with those in other developed countries (and well above average among a larger set of countries). Moreover, there is no evidence that U.S. students lose ground relative to those in other countries during the middle school years. Thus, although literacy skills in the United States are lower than needed to meet the demands of modern society, the same is true in most other developed countries.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000309434800002

    View details for PubMedID 23057129

  • Brown Fades: The End of Court-Ordered School Desegregation and the Resegregation of American Public Schools JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT Reardon, S. F., Grewal, E. T., Kalogrides, D., Greenberg, E. 2012; 31 (4): 876-U95

    View details for DOI 10.1002/pam.21649

    View details for Web of Science ID 000308638200005

  • Estimating Achievement Gaps From Test Scores Reported in Ordinal "Proficiency" Categories JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS Ho, A. D., Reardon, S. F. 2012; 37 (4): 489-517
  • Regression Discontinuity Designs With Multiple Rating-Score Variables JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Reardon, S. F., Robinson, J. P. 2012; 5 (1): 83-104
  • Rejoinder: Probing Assumptions, Enriching Analysis JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Raudenbush, S. W., Reardon, S. F., Nomi, T. 2012; 5 (3): 342–44
  • Statistical Analysis for Multisite Trials Using Instrumental Variables With Random Coefficients JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Raudenbush, S. W., Reardon, S. F., Nomi, T. 2012; 5 (3): 303-332
  • Suburbanization and school segregation Research on schools, neighborhoods, and communities: Toward civic responsibility Reardon, S., Yun, J., Chmielewski, A. 2012: 85-102
  • The Effects of Socioeconomic School Integration Policies on Racial School Desegregation INTEGRATING SCHOOLS IN A CHANGING SOCIETY: NEW POLICIES AND LEGAL OPTIONS FOR A MULTIRACIAL GENERATION Reardon, S. F., Rhodes, L., Frankenberg, E., Debray, E. 2011: 187–207
  • The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor: New evidence and possible explanations Whither opportunity Reardon, S. F. 2011: 91-116
  • The effects of socioeconomic school integration plans on racial school desegregation Integrating schools in a changing society: New policies and legal options for a multiracial generation Reardon, S. F., Rhodes, L. 2011: 187-208
  • The Widening Academic Achievement Gap Between the Rich and the Poor: New Evidence and Possible Explanations WHITHER OPPORTUNITY?: RISING INEQUALITY, SCHOOLS, AND CHILDREN'S LIFE CHANCES Reardon, S. F., Duncan, G. J., Murnane, R. J. 2011: 91–115
  • Income Inequality and Income Segregation AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY Reardon, S. F., Bischoff, K. 2011; 116 (4): 1092-1153

    Abstract

    This article investigates how the growth in income inequality from 1970 to 2000 affected patterns of income segregation along three dimensions: the spatial segregation of poverty and affluence, race-specific patterns of income segregation, and the geographic scale of income segregation. The evidence reveals a robust relationship between income inequality and income segregation, an effect that is larger for black families than for white families. In addition, income inequality affects income segregation primarily through its effect on the large-scale spatial segregation of affluence rather than by affecting the spatial segregation of poverty or by altering small-scale patterns of income segregation.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000290005800002

    View details for PubMedID 21648248

  • Effects of Failing a High School Exit Exam on Course Taking, Achievement, Persistence, and Graduation EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS Reardon, S. F., Arshan, N., Atteberry, A., Kurlaender, M. 2010; 32 (4): 498-520
  • Measuring the Strength of Teachers' Unions: An Empirical Application of the Partial Independence Item Response Approach JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS Strunk, K. O., Reardon, S. F. 2010; 35 (6): 629-670
  • ASSUMPTIONS OF VALUE-ADDED MODELS FOR ESTIMATING SCHOOL EFFECTS EDUCATION FINANCE AND POLICY Reardon, S. F., Raudenbush, S. W. 2009; 4 (4): 492-519
  • The Hispanic-White Achievement Gap in Math and Reading in the Elementary Grades AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL Reardon, S. F., Galindo, C. 2009; 46 (3): 853-891
  • Race and space in the 1990s: Changes in the geographic scale of racial residential segregation, 1990-2000 SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH Reardon, S. F., Farrell, C. R., Matthews, S. A., O'sullivan, D., Bischoff, K., Firebaugh, G. 2009; 38 (1): 57-72

    Abstract

    We use newly developed methods of measuring spatial segregation across a range of spatial scales to assess changes in racial residential segregation patterns in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas from 1990 to 2000. Our results point to three notable trends in segregation from 1990 to 2000: (1) Hispanic-white and Asian-white segregation levels increased at both micro- and macro-scales; (2) black-white segregation declined at a micro-scale, but was unchanged at a macro-scale; and (3) for all three racial groups and for almost all metropolitan areas, macro-scale segregation accounted for more of the total metropolitan area segregation in 2000 than in 1990. Our examination of the variation in these trends among the metropolitan areas suggests that Hispanic-white and Asian-white segregation changes have been driven largely by increases in macro-scale segregation resulting from the rapid growth of the Hispanic and Asian populations in central cities. The changes in black-white segregation, in contrast, appear to be driven by the continuation of a 30-year trend in declining micro-segregation, coupled with persistent and largely stable patterns of macro-segregation.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2008.10.002

    View details for Web of Science ID 000262835300005

  • Race and space in the 1990s: changes in the geographic scale of racial residential segregation, 1990-2000. Social science research Reardon, S. F., Farrell, C. R., Matthews, S. A., O'sullivan, D., Bischoff, K., Firebaugh, G. 2009; 38 (1): 55-70

    Abstract

    We use newly developed methods of measuring spatial segregation across a range of spatial scales to assess changes in racial residential segregation patterns in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas from 1990 to 2000. Our results point to three notable trends in segregation from 1990 to 2000: (1) Hispanic-white and Asian-white segregation levels increased at both micro- and macro-scales; (2) black-white segregation declined at a micro-scale, but was unchanged at a macro-scale; and (3) for all three racial groups and for almost all metropolitan areas, macro-scale segregation accounted for more of the total metropolitan area segregation in 2000 than in 1990. Our examination of the variation in these trends among the metropolitan areas suggests that Hispanic-white and Asian-white segregation changes have been driven largely by increases in macro-scale segregation resulting from the rapid growth of the Hispanic and Asian populations in central cities. The changes in black-white segregation, in contrast, appear to be driven by the continuation of a 30-year trend in declining micro-segregation, coupled with persistent and largely stable patterns of macro-segregation.

    View details for PubMedID 19569292

  • The effect of Catholic schooling on math and reading development in kindergarten through fifth grade Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness Reardon, S. F., Cheadle, J. E., Robinson, J. P. 2009; 2 (1): 45-87
  • Measures of ordinal segregation Occupational and residential segregation Reardon, S. F. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. 2009: 129–155
  • Beyond the Census Tract: Patterns and Determinants of Racial Segregation at Multiple Geographic Scales AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW Lee, B. A., Reardon, S. F., Firebaugh, G., Farrell, C. R., Matthews, S. A., O'sullivan, D. 2008; 73 (5): 766-791

    Abstract

    The census tract-based residential segregation literature rests on problematic assumptions about geographic scale and proximity. We pursue a new tract-free approach that combines explicitly spatial concepts and methods to examine racial segregation across egocentric local environments of varying size. Using 2000 census data for the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, we compute a spatially modified version of the information theory index H to describe patterns of black-white, Hispanic-white, Asian-white, and multi-group segregation at different scales. The metropolitan structural characteristics that best distinguish micro-segregation from macro-segregation for each group combination are identified, and their effects are decomposed into portions due to racial variation occurring over short and long distances. A comparison of our results to those from tract-based analyses confirms the value of the new approach.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000259978300004

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4196718

  • Beyond the Census Tract: Patterns and Determinants of Racial Segregation at Multiple Geographic Scales. American sociological review Lee, B. A., Reardon, S. F., Firebaugh, G., Farrell, C. R., Matthews, S. A., O'Sullivan, D. 2008; 73 (5): 766-791

    Abstract

    The census tract-based residential segregation literature rests on problematic assumptions about geographic scale and proximity. We pursue a new tract-free approach that combines explicitly spatial concepts and methods to examine racial segregation across egocentric local environments of varying size. Using 2000 census data for the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, we compute a spatially modified version of the information theory index H to describe patterns of black-white, Hispanic-white, Asian-white, and multi-group segregation at different scales. The metropolitan structural characteristics that best distinguish micro-segregation from macro-segregation for each group combination are identified, and their effects are decomposed into portions due to racial variation occurring over short and long distances. A comparison of our results to those from tract-based analyses confirms the value of the new approach.

    View details for DOI 10.1177/000312240807300504

    View details for PubMedID 25324575

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4196718

  • The geographic scale of metropolitan racial segregation DEMOGRAPHY Reardon, S. F., Matthews, S. A., O'sullivan, D., Lee, B. A., Firebaugh, G., Farrell, C. R., Bischoff, K. 2008; 45 (3): 489-514

    Abstract

    This article addresses an aspect of racial residential segregation that has been largely ignored in prior work: the issue of geographic scale. In some metropolitan areas, racial groups are segregated over large regions, with predominately white regions, predominately black regions, and so on, whereas in other areas, the separation of racial groups occurs over much shorter distances. Here we develop an approach-featuring the segregation profile and the corresponding macro/micro segregation ratio-that offers a scale-sensitive alternative to standard methodological practice for describing segregation. Using this approach, we measure and describe the geographic scale of racial segregation in the 40 largest U.S. metropolitan areas in 2000. We find considerable heterogeneity in the geographic scale of segregation patterns across both metropolitan areas and racial groups, a heterogeneity that is not evident using conventional "aspatial" segregation measures. Moreover, because the geographic scale of segregation is only modestly correlated with the level of segregation in our sample, we argue that geographic scale represents a distinct dimension of residential segregation. We conclude with a brief discussion of the implications of our findings for investigating the patterns, causes, and consequences of residential segregation at different geographic scales.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000259598400002

    View details for PubMedID 18939658

  • Patterns and trends in racial/ethnic and socioeconomic academic achievement gaps Handbook of research in education finance and policy Reardon, S. F., Robinson, J. P., Weathers, E. S. 2008: 497-516
  • Patterns of Hispanic Students' Math Skill Proficiency in the Early Elementary Grades JOURNAL OF LATINOS AND EDUCATION Reardon, S. F., Galindo, C. 2007; 6 (3): 229–51
  • Patterns of Hispanic students' math skill proficiency in the early elementary grades Journal of Latinos and Education Reardon, S. F., Galindo, C. 2007; 6 (3): 229-251
  • Retail tobacco outlet density and youth cigarette smoking: A propensity-modeling approach AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH Novak, S. P., Reardon, S. F., Raudenbush, S. W., Buka, S. L. 2006; 96 (4): 670-676

    Abstract

    We examined whether retail tobacco outlet density was related to youth cigarette smoking after control for a diverse range of neighborhood characteristics.Data were gathered from 2116 respondents (aged 11 to 23 years) residing in 178 census tracts in Chicago, Ill. Propensity score stratification methods for continuous exposures were used to adjust for potentially confounding neighborhood characteristics, thus strengthening causal inferences.Retail tobacco outlets were disproportionately located in neighborhoods characterized by social and economic disadvantage. In a model that excluded neighborhood confounders, a marginally significant effect was found. Youths in areas at the highest 75th percentile in retail tobacco outlet density were 13% more likely (odds ratio [OR]=1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.99, 1.28) to have smoked in the past month compared with those living at the lowest 25th percentile. However, the relation became stronger and significant (OR=0.21; 95% CI=1.04, 1.41) after introduction of tract-level confounders and was statistically significant in the propensity score-adjusted model (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.001, 1.44). Results did not differ significantly between minors and those legally permitted to smoke.Reductions in retail tobacco outlet density may reduce rates of youth smoking.

    View details for DOI 10.2105/AJPH.2004.061622

    View details for Web of Science ID 000236429200029

    View details for PubMedID 16507726

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC1470554

  • Implications of income-based school assignment policies for racial school segregation EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS Reardon, S. F., Yun, J. T., Kurlaender, M. 2006; 28 (1): 49-75
  • A partial independence item response model for surveys with filter questions SOCIOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY 2006, VOL 36 Reardon, S. F., Raudenbush, S. W. 2006; 36: 257-300
  • A conceptual framework for measuring segregation and its association with population outcomes Methods in social epidemiology Reardon, S. F. 2006; 1 (169): 169-192
  • Integrating neighborhoods, segregating schools - The retreat from school desegregation in the South, 1990-2000 Conference on the Resegregation of Southern Schools Reardon, S. F., Yun, J. T. UNIV NORTH CAROLINA PRESS. 2005: 51–69
  • Integrating Neighborhoods, Segregating Schools The Retreat from School Desegregation in the South, 1990-2000 SCHOOL RESEGREGATION: MUST THE SOUTH TURN BACK Reardon, S. F., Yun, J. T., Boger, J. C., Orfield, G. 2005: 51–69
  • Measures of spatial segregation SOCIOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY, 2004, VOL 34 Reardon, S. F., O'Sullivan, D. 2004; 34: 121-162
  • Measures of multigroup segregation Sociological methodology Reardon, S. F., Firebaugh, G. 2002; 32 (1): 33-67
  • Response: Segregation and social distance - A generalized approach to segregation measurement SOCIOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY 2002, VOL 32 Reardon, S. F., Firebaugh, G. 2002; 32: 85-101
  • Measures of multigroup segregation SOCIOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY 2002, VOL 32 Reardon, S. F., Firebaugh, G. 2002; 32: 33-67
  • Estimating multi-level discrete-time hazard models using cross-sectional data: Neighborhood effects on the onset of adolescent cigarette use MULTIVARIATE BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH Reardon, S. F., Brennan, R. T., Buka, S. L. 2002; 37 (3): 297-330

    Abstract

    Investigating the effects of social context (e.g., neighborhood or school context) on the timing of behaviors (such as cigarette use initiation) requires both multi-level modeling and eventhistory analysis, and often requires the construction of a retrospective person-period data set from cross-sectional data. In this article we describe procedures for constructing such a data set and discuss modeling strategies for estimating multi-level discrete-time event history models. We show that the estimation of two-level discrete-time models involves three distinct modeling assumptions (the assumptions that individual- and neighborhood-level covariates have the same effect at all time points and the assumption that the baseline logithazard curves in each neighborhood are parallel) and discuss methods of relaxing and empirically testing each of these assumptions. Estimation can be simplified in some cases if we additionally assume that the shape of the baseline logit-hazard curve in each neighborhood can be approximated by a simple functional form. The methods described here are applicable to a wide variety of questions where the dependent variable of interest is either onset or cessation. Here we apply these methods to the analysis of cigarette use initiation in a sample of 1,979 11- to 18-year-olds drawn from 79 neighborhoods of Chicago. We find that the racial composition of a neighborhood accounts for roughly half of the difference in age of smoking initiation between Black and White teenagers. Specifically, we find that living in a neighborhood with a large percentage of Black residents is associated with a lower hazard of adolescent cigarette use initiation than is living in neighborhoods with few Black residents.

    View details for DOI 10.1207/S15327906MBR3703_1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000178733000001

    View details for PubMedID 26751291

  • Differences in onset and persistence of substance abuse and dependence among whites, blacks, and Hispanics Reardon, S. F., Buka, S. L. US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 2002: S51-S59

    Abstract

    This article describes patterns of onset, persistence, and cessation of substance abuse among whites, blacks, and Hispanics that are masked in cross-sectional prevalence data.The authors analyzed longitudinal data from a sample of 1,004 white, black, and Hispanic respondents from Chicago to investigate processes of onset, persistence, and cessation of substance abuse and dependence for two age cohorts, 15 and 18 at baseline and 17 and 20 at follow-up.The data show few racial or ethnic differences in the prevalence of alcohol and marijuana abuse and dependence at age 15. Rates of onset of alcohol abuse and dependence among whites between ages 15 and 17 were significantly higher than for blacks and Hispanics, and the rates of onset of marijuana abuse and dependence among blacks between ages 18 and 20 were significantly higher than for whites and Hispanics of the same age group. There were few significant differences among the three groups in the persistence rates of abuse and dependence.By age 20 the rates of marijuana abuse and dependence are significantly higher among blacks than among whites and Hispanics.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000179459700007

    View details for PubMedID 12435827

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC1913709

  • How beliefs about substance use differ by socio-demographic characteristics, individual experiences, and neighborhood environments among urban adolescents JOURNAL OF DRUG EDUCATION Novak, S. P., Reardon, S. F., Buka, S. L. 2002; 32 (4): 319-342

    Abstract

    In this article, we tested a series of Item Response Theory (IRT) models to examine the individual and neighborhood variation in perceived risk along dimensions of substance use (alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs) and usage patterns (light/experimental use, moderate use, heavy/regular use). Data were gathered from 2266 adolescents aged 9, 12, and 15 residing in 79 Chicago neighborhoods. Developmental patterns for age and amount of use were observed whereby older respondents rated alcohol and marijuana as less harmful compared to the younger respondents, but rated hard drugs as more harmful. Risk perceptions were found to be more closely tied to one's direct experience with drugs rather than a general constellation of beliefs. Neighborhood variation in risk perceptions was also observed for hard drugs and three patterns of use, controlling for characteristics of individual residents. Neighborhoods did not vary in risk perceptions toward alcohol use. Individual-level factors rather than characteristics of the neighborhoods explained the observed neighborhood variation in perceptions toward marijuana use. These findings illustrate the complex links between individual and contextual factors in the development of beliefs about the health risks associated with substance use.

    View details for DOI 10.2190/GJ7D-N0KF-NW64-KLW0

    View details for Web of Science ID 000180322700005

    View details for PubMedID 12556136

  • Suburban racial change and suburban school segregation, 1987-95 SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION Reardon, S. F., Yun, J. T. 2001; 74 (2): 79-101

    View details for DOI 10.2307/2673164

    View details for Web of Science ID 000168797600001

  • Suburban racial change and suburban school segregation, 1987-95 Sociology of education Reardon, S. F., Yun, J. T. 2001: 79-101
  • The changing structure of school segregation: Measurement and evidence of multiracial metropolitan-area school segregation, 1989-1995 Reardon, S. F., Yun, J. T., Eitle, T. M. POPULATION ASSN AMER. 2000: 351-364

    Abstract

    In this paper we examine aggregate patterns and trends in segregation among white (non-Hispanic), black, Hispanic, and Asian public school students in 217 metropolitan areas during the period 1989-1995. We first describe a set of methodological tools that enable us both to measure the mutual segregation among multiple racial groups and to partition total metropolitan-area school segregation into geographic and racial components. Then we use these tools to examine patterns and trends in metropolitan-area school segregation. We find that the average levels of multiracial school segregation have been unchanged from 1989 to 1995, but that this stability masks important shifts in the geographic and racial components making up average levels of total metropolitan school segregation. In particular, segregation between non-Hispanic white students and all other students has increased, on average, while segregation among black, Hispanic, and Asian student groups has declined. In addition, the contribution to average levels of total metropolitan segregation due to between-district segregation has grown, whereas the relative contribution of within-district segregation has declined.

    View details for DOI 10.2307/2648047

    View details for Web of Science ID 000088776900008

    View details for PubMedID 10953809

  • The changing structure of school segregation: Measurement and evidence of multiracial metropolitan-area school segregation, 1989–1995 Demography Reardon, S. F., Yun, J. T., Eitle, T. M. 2000; 37 (3): 351-364