An Assessment of the Success of Creative Arts and Ige Magnet Schools in Flint, Michigan, 1976-78.

Abstract

The magnet school plan was implemented in ten Flint, Michigan elementary schools (to facilitate racial integration of pupils) in September 1976. Three of these magnets emphasized the creative arts (ARTS I, II, and III), and another used the individually guided education (IGE) curricular approach. The purpose of this study was to determine whether these four schools were successful in attracting and retaining pupils for the first two years of the magnet program (1976-78), and whether an affective approach (arts schools) and a cognitive approach (IGE) could both be successful approaches in magnet education. Data were gathered from public records of the central administration. The study was designed to use these data for individual case studies, and not for intercomparisons. The study focused on: (1) planning (reasons the schools were selected, composites of planning committees, and staff selections); (2) implementation (methods of student orientation); (3) curriculum (goals and characteristics of the programs); and (4) evaluation (each magnet's purpose(s) and each magnet's program effect, i.e. goal attainment, academic success, mobility rate, participants' attitudes, and any evident relationships). The study found successes and failures in the four areas studied (planning, implementation, curriculum, and evaluation). Schools which were successful in: (1) planning, had future participants on their planning committees; (2) implementation, had preconceived method(s) for pupil orientation; (3) curriculum, had broad goals; and (4) evaluation, had: (a) maintained academic achievement, (b) stable mobility rates, and (c) positive participant attitudes. Schools which were unsuccessful in: (1) planning, had nonparticipant planning committees; (2) implementation, omitted pupil orientation; (3) curriculum, had narrow goals; and (4) evaluation had: (a) not maintaned academic achievement, (b) high mobility, and (c) apathetic participant attitudes.