Community

BACK TO THE STATE OF OPPORTUNITY IN AMERICA FULL REPORT.
For more information on the methodology used, please visit this page. This data was most recently updated on April 2, 2009.

A shared sense of responsibility for each other is a crucial element of opportunity. While public opinion that government has a responsibility to those who need assistance increased, trust in the government declined.

Another key indicator of community is racial segregation in schools. In the twelve years from 1993-94 to 2005-06, K-12 public education segregation has significantly decreased for white and American Indian students, but significantly increased for black, Hispanic, and Asian students.

Our overall assessment indicates that opportunity for community was mixed for the years examined.

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Indicator 2009 Update Supporting Data

Trust in Government: evaluates public opinion research on trust in the government.1

 Down Arrow

From 2007 to 2008, Americans expressed an increased level of mistrust in the government, meaning opportunity declined in this area. When asked, they responded in the affirmative to the following:

"Just about always" trusted the government

  • 2008: 17% of those surveyed
  • 2007: 24% of those surveyed
  • Change: decreased 29.2%
  • SIGNIFICANT: YES

"Never" trusted the government

  • 2008: 9% of those surveyed
  • 2007: 5% of those surveyed
  • Change: increased 80.0%*
  • SIGNIFICANT: YES

*An increase in a negative perception reflects a decline in opportunity; therefore, the opportunity arrow shows a decline.

Government Responsibility to Those Who Need Assistance: evaluates the American public’s views of the obligation of the U.S. government to aid people who need assistance.2

 Up Arrow

The American people between 2003 and 2007 have increasingly believed that the U.S. government has a role to play in protecting people who need assistance. Therefore, opportunity in this area increased.

The government has a responsibility to take care of people who can't take care of themselves

  • 2008: 69% of those surveyed agreed with the above statement
  • 2007: 66% of those surveyed agreed with the above statement
  • Change: increased 4.5%
  • SIGNIFICANT: YES

Help more needy people even if debt increases

  • 2008: 54% of those surveyed agreed with the above statement
  • 2007: 54% of those surveyed agreed with the above statement
  • Change: remained constant
  • SIGNIFICANT: NO

K-12 Public Education Segregation: a measurement of racial and ethnic isolation in public schools. (Note: numbers may not add up due to rounding.)3

"Majority white school:" a public school where fewer than 5% of the students are non-white.

"Majority minority school:" a public school where fewer than 5% of the students are white.

Mixed

In the twelve years from 1993-94 to 2005-06, K-12 public education segregation has significantly decreased for white and American Indian students but significantly increased for black, Hispanic, and Asian students. Therefore, opportunity in this area was mixed.

White Students enrolled in a "majority white school"

  • 2005-2006: 21%, or 5.8 million
  • 1993-1994: 34%, or 9.6 million
  • Change: the percent decreased 38.2%, or 3.8 million
  • SIGNIFICANT: YES

Black Students enrolled in a "majority minority school"

  • 2005-2006: 31%, or 2.6 million
  • 1993-1994: 28%, or 2.0 million
  • Change: the percent increased 10.7%, or 0.6 million
  • SIGNIFICANT: YES

Hispanic Students enrolled in a "majority minority school"

  • 2005-2006: 29%, or 2.7 million
  • 1993-1994: 25%, or 1.4 million
  • Change: the percent increased 16.0%, or 1.4 million
  • SIGNIFICANT: YES

Asian Students enrolled in a "majority minority school"

  • 2005-2006: 8%, or 185,400
  • 1993-1994: 6%, or 91,300
  • Change: the percent increased 33.3%, or 94,100
  • SIGNIFICANT: YES

American Indian Students enrolled in a "majority minority school"

  • 2005-2006: 16%, or 83,200
  • 1993-1994: 34%, or 95,400
  • Change: the percent decreased 11.1%, or 12,200
  • SIGNIFICANT: YES

  1. Galston et al., Change You Can Believe In Needs a Government You Can Trust, Third Way, November 2008, Table 1, available at http://www.thirdway.org/data/product/file/176/Third_Way_-_Trust_in_Government_Report.pdf.
  2. Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007, The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, March 2007, pg 13, available at http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/312.pdf.
  3. Pew Hispanic Center, Racial and Ethnic Composition of Schools, August 30, 2007, Table 1, available at http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/79.pdf.