In 2005–06, larger percentages of Black and Hispanic public school students attended schools with high minority enrollments than White, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander public school students.

In 2005–06, public schools with high minority enrollments (defined as schools in which 75 percent or more of the students were Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, or American Indian/Alaska Native) enrolled 23 percent of all public elementary and secondary students (see table 30-1). However, about half of all Hispanic (56 percent) and Black (50 percent) students attended such schools—larger percentages than Asian/Pacific Islander (31 percent), American Indian/Alaska Native (29 percent), or White (3 percent) students at such schools.

The percentage of students in schools with high minority enrollments varied across school locales in 2005–06, with a larger percentage of public school students in cities (45 percent) attending such schools than in suburban areas (20 percent), towns (10 percent), or rural areas (7 percent). In cities, greater percentages of Hispanic and Black students attended such schools than did Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and White students. In suburban areas and towns, however, a greater percentage of Hispanic students attended such schools than did students of any other race/ethnicity. In rural areas, a greater percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native students attended schools with high minority enrollments than did students of any other race/ethnicity.

Examining the concentration of specific racial/ethnic groups provides a more detailed snapshot of the extent to which students are in racially and ethnically diverse schools. Nationally, public schools in which 75 percent or more of the students were Black enrolled 31 percent of all Black students and less than 1 percent of students of each other race/ethnicity in 2005–06 (see table 30-2). Public schools in which 75 percent or more of the students were Hispanic enrolled 33 percent of Hispanic public school students, 3 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander public school students, and 2 percent or less of public school students of each other race/ethnicity (see table 30-3). Public schools in which 75 percent or more of the students were White enrolled 64 percent of White public school students, 24 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native, 20 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander, 9 percent of Black, and 8 percent of Hispanic public school students (see table 30-4).