This brief reports findings from a survey with middle and high school youth in a midsize district in the Mid-Atlantic. We find that belonging varies by race and ethnicity for young people. Overall, Black and Latino/x youth report lower belonging when compared to their White peers in a pro-diversity and inclusion district. Implications for policy…

Multiple factors influence a student's success in high school graduation. Individual factors such as disability, racial or ethnic identity, and gender may result in inequity in the school environment, interfering with learning and possibly leading to poorer educational outcomes. This secondary analysis of student educational records (N = 3,782)…

Like most other states, Missouri uses assessments intended to measure whether students are on a pathway to "college and career readiness." The state longitudinal data system now has the capacity to directly test that claim. We make use of 8th-grade assessment (MAP) scores in Math, Science, and Communication Arts for roughly 260,000…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on ninth-grade students' mathematics achievement in a rural school district located in South Carolina. Students enrolled in ninth grade prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (2018- 2019 school year) Algebra I EOC scores were compared to the students enrolled in ninth grade for…

Talking about race does not have to be incredibly awkward. In this book, Gooding offers twelve clear, cogent, and concise racial rubrics to help users of mainstream media more readily discern patterns hidden in plain sight. The text primarily leverages popular movies as the medium of analysis--since they are unparalleled in their cultural…

Substance use in adolescence is a significant public health issue, particularly in early-to-mid adolescence, which represents a window of risk in the etiology of substance abuse and dependence. Substance use during this development period often results from affiliation with deviant peers, who model, facilitate, and reinforce use. Existing…

Differences in school choice by race contribute to school segregation and unequal access to effective schools. Conditional on test score and district of residence, Black and Hispanic families consistently choose schools with fewer white and Asian students, lower average achievement, and lower value-added. This paper combines unique survey data and…

This dissertation examines how implementing READ 180 for 9th grade students affects their Lexile level and reading ability. The research focuses on two questions: what changes were noticed in the students' Lexile levels? and what program recommendations can be made moving forward? The methodology used was PDSA and improvement science. The study…

The five-step bystander intervention model (i.e., Notice, Interpret, Accept Responsibility, Know What to Do, Act) has been utilized to study intervention in traditional bullying, but not bullying bystander behavior in online contexts. Additionally, differences in how students of color and White students are involved in bystander behavior in…

This study explored the relationship between middle school and high school math course-taking patterns in Nebraska using statewide reported course-taking data from 2009 to 2021. Course-taking trajectories were evident starting in middle school and were then studied by considering school-level variables and student-level demographic variables.…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine enrollment in string orchestra instruction across Texas. Three central research questions guided the investigation: (a) How well is orchestra represented in districts and schools across the state of Texas? (b) What are the characteristics (FRPL eligibility, locale, student race/ethnicity,…

This series of evaluation briefs explores the relationship between (a) school climate (as measured by the Brief School Climate Survey for elementary and secondary students), (b) student-level demographics, and (c) PBIS Fidelity (as measured by the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI). All briefs in this series include the same introductory information…

This study examined if differences in the experiences of student support co-occurred with differences in student perceptions of safety and the experience of bullying victimization as functions of race (Black/African American students; White/Caucasian students) and grade band (middle school students; high school students). Participants for this…

The researchers investigated adolescent perceptions of school climate and academic self-efficacy over time for a group of Grade 7 through Grade 9 students. We followed 717 students in an ethnically diverse school district in a small town in northern Ohio from fall 2009 to spring 2011. Four waves of data collected in surveys each fall and spring…

Though schools do not track in Brazil, I find that racial classroom segregation in Brazil is on par with recent estimates from North Carolina high schools (Clotfelter et al., 2020). How does racial classroom segregation occur without tracking, and in a supposed "racial paradise," no less? Using national, student-level data spanning from…