For comments on an earlier draft of this chapter and for detailed advice I am indebted to Robert M. Hauser, Halliman H. Winsborough, and Toni Richards, several anonymous reviewers, and the editor of this volume. I also wish to thank John Raisian, Nancy Rytina, and Barbara Mann for their comments and Mark Wilson for able research assistance. The opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the author.

Asymptotic Confidence Intervals for Indirect Effects in Structural Equation Models

The most commonly used method to test an indirect effect is to divide the estimate of the indirect effect by its standard error and compare the resulting z statistic with a critical value from the standard normal distribution. Confidence limits for the indirect effect are also typically based on critical values from the standard normal distribution. This article uses a simulation study to demonstrate that confidence limits are imbalanced because the distribution of the indirect effect is normal only in special cases. Two alternatives for improving the performance of confidence limits for the indirect effect are evaluated: (a) a method based on the distribution of the product of two normal random variables, and (b) resampling methods. In Study 1, confidence limits based on the distribution of the product are more accurate than methods based on an assumed normal distribution but confidence limits are still imbalanced. Study 2 demonstrates that more accurate confidence limits are obtained using resampling methods, with the bias-corrected bootstrap the best method overall.

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Confidence Limits for the Indirect Effect: Distribution of the Product and Resampling Methods.

This meta-analysis reviewed the literature on socioeconomic status (SES) and academic achievement in journal articles published between 1990 and 2000. The sample included 101,157 students, 6,871 schools, and 128 school districts gathered from 74 independent samples. The results showed a medium to strong SES–achievement relation. This relation, however, is moderated by the unit, the source, the range of SES variable, and the type of SES–achievement measure. The relation is also contingent upon school level, minority status, and school location. The author conducted a replica of White’s (1982) meta-analysis to see whether the SES–achievement correlation had changed since White’s initial review was published. The results showed a slight decrease in the average correlation. Practical implications for future research and policy are discussed.

Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review of Research

This paper conceives of residential segregation as a multidimensional phenomenon varying along 5 distinct axes of measurement: evenness exposure concentration centralization and clustering. 20 indices of segregation are surveyed and related conceptually to 1 of the 5 dimensions. Using data from a large set of US metropolitan areas the indices are intercorrelated and factor analyzed. Orthogonal and oblique rotations produce pattern matrices consistent with the postulated dimensional structure. Based on the factor analyses and other information 1 index was chosen to represent each of the 5 dimensions and these selections were confirmed with a principal components analysis. The paper recommends adopting these indices as standard indicators in future studies of segregation. (authors)

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The Dimensions of Residential Segregation

The Contradictions Of Liberal Educational Reform Beyond the Educational Frontier: The Great American Dream Freeze Broken Promises: School Reform in Retrospect * Education And The Structure Of Economic Life At the Root of the Problem: The Capitalist Economy Education, Inequality, and the Meritocracy Education and Personal Development: The Long Shadow of Work * The Dynamics Of Educational Change The Origins of Mass Public Education Corporate Capital and Progressive Education The Transformation of Higher Education and the Emerging White-Collar Proletariat Capital Accumulation, Class Conflict, and Educational Change * Getting There Educational Alternatives Education, Socialism, and Revolution

Schooling in Capitalist America: Educational Reform and the Contradictions of Economic Life

http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2088328.pdf

A methodological analysis of segregation indexes

Socioeconomic Background and Achievement.

Socioeconomic background and achievement

Ecological analysis is a promising approach to the study of urban social stratification, for differences in the residential distributions of occupations groups are found to parallel the differences among them in socio-economic status and recruitment The occupation groups at the extremes of the socioeconomic scale are the most segregated Residential concentration in low-rent areas and residential centralization are inversely related to socioeconomic status Inconsistencies in the ranking of occupation groups according to residential patterns occur at points where there is evidence of status disequilibrium

Beverly Duncan

Papers

A methodological analysis of segregation indexes

Socioeconomic Background and Achievement.

Socioeconomic background and achievement

Residential Distribution and Occupational Stratification

The Negro population of Chicago : a study of residential succession