Hilla Sang (Libraries) will present "Geospatial Analysis of Educational Opportunity in Ohio: Does School Choice Really Exist?" with Elizabeth Gilblom of Cleveland State University at the American Educational Research Association in New York City this week.

The presentation will examine the relationship among neighborhood context and the strategic presence of charter schools and for-profit postsecondary institutions in three urban Ohio counties. Through geospatial and statistical analyses, the two researchers will investigate the geographic or physical positioning of school options in three urban counties. These assessments were made using school enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System as well as racial, socioeconomic, and educational attainment demographics from the U.S. Census. Findings reveal the clustered and strategic locations of charter schools and the relationships they have with concentrations of African-American, high poverty neighborhoods, and white suburban areas.