A Socioeconomic Tier Study of Tucson Unified School District

Abstract

Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) has taken steps to ensure they are not segregating students based on socioeconomic status in their schools. At the bequest of their Office of Desegregation, a case study of TUSD’s schools was performed. This case study included determining the geographical distribution of schools across the district boundary and analyzing socioeconomic traits as proxies for student segregation. The socioeconomic traits examined were household income, educational attainment, rent vs. owned households, and single-parent vs. two-parent households. The socioeconomic status analyses detailed in this report drew from the Texas Education Agency’s 2018 study and aimed to replicate a socioeconomic tier study of their school-aged residents. To complete this study, socioeconomic tiers within TUSD were created. Socioeconomic tiers were calculated based on creating an index from multiple census variables. Tier data was joined to school attendance boundaries to obtain raw percentages of each tier as it was distributed within each TUSD school. Next, schools with disproportionate percentages of students represented by one or more socioeconomic tiers were identified. Lastly, the distribution of tiers across TUSD attendance boundaries was visually analyzed. This research will allow TUSD to determine which students and schools need additional program and financial support. Other school districts in the United States can utilize the model from this study for the same purpose.