From a bird’s eye view, U.S. public schools seem to have become a lot more diverse since the days of segregated education. In the civil rights era, 8 out of every 10 students were white. Today, there’s no longer any one racial group that holds a majority in public schools.

But research from Erica Frankenberg’s group at Pennsylvania State University reveals that many individual students still have limited exposure to kids of other races. Whether a student is white, Latino or black, they likely attend a school with a disproportionate number of kids of their same racial or ethnic background. Data from Frankenberg, a professor of education and demography, shows that the U.S. public school system still has a ways to go on desegregation.

Also today: tips for avoiding heat stroke as temperatures soar, why birds sing, and how big a deal is Elon Musk’s Neuralink?

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Many kids in the U.S. today attend public schools composed mostly of students of the same race. Aksinia Abiagam/Shutterstock.com

What school segregation looks like in the US today, in 4 charts

Erica Frankenberg, Pennsylvania State University

US school segregation is higher than it has been in decades, even if there are no longer overt laws requiring racially segregated schools.

Politics + Society

Health + Medicine

Science + Technology

Environment + Energy

  • Adapting cities to a hotter world: 3 essential reads

    Jennifer Weeks, The Conversation

    Hot weather kills more Americans yearly on average than floods, tornadoes or hurricanes. Three scholars explain how cities can prepare and help residents stay cool.

  • Why do birds sing?

    David Steadman, University of Florida

    Birds spend a lot of time and energy singing, but they don't do it the same way in every season of the year. And some can't sing at all. What's the purpose of birdsong?

Arts + Culture

Economy + Business

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I think the level of funding for the field should be determined the way the rest of science is, by competitive peer review of proposals for research.

 

Yes, I'm searching for aliens – and no, I won't be going to Area 51 to look for them

 

Jason Wright

Pennsylvania State University

Jason Wright
 
 

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