The question of who is the basic writer threads the history of Basic Writing, characterizing many disciplinary tensions and concerns. When traced to Basic Writing's beginnings as part of open admissions at CUNY, the question often links to Shaughnessy's "Errors and Expectations" as a telling of basic writers' language deficiencies. This…

For decades the City University of New York has served as a model for public higher education in the United States. Since 1969, CUNY has attempted to construct policies that support the postsecondary ambitions of New York's underrepresented students. The era of Open Admissions that ushered in the 1970s remains one of the greatest social…

As school choice expands in different states and districts, it appears in several different forms: (1) open enrollment policies among traditional public schools; (2) charter schools available to students regardless of their neighborhood (including online charter schools); or (3) school vouchers that families can use to enroll in other districts or…

This paper examines thirty major American cities to determine how "choice-friendly" they are today. Selected for their size and geographic diversity, the cities reveal both the best and worst conditions for school choice to take root and grow. "School choice" is defined broadly to incorporate a wide range of public and private…

THIS CONFERENCE PAPER DISCUSSES DE FACTO SCHOOL DESEGREGATION IN NEW YORK CITY AND THE BOARD OF EDUCATION'S OPEN ENROLLMENT PLAN AND OTHER EFFORTS TO BRING ABOUT SCHOOL INTEGRATION. IN THE COURSE OF THIS DISCUSSION THE PARTICIPATION OF THE NEW YORK CITY COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN THESE EFFORTS IS EXPLAINED. (EF)

Presents additional data covering the first four semesters of open admissions, showing that the four semester CUNY net retention rates are considerably higher than the eight semester national rates; the proportion of attrited students who return is discussed also. (Author/JM)

This critique of a study of student retention under open admissions at CUNY argues that if Open Admissions students were given a reasonable opportunity for collegiate success, then retention rates would lose much of their significance in evaluating the program. (JM)

A defense of the Open Admissions policy of the City University of New York, initiated in the Fall of 1970, against several of its critics. (JM)

In 1970 City University instituted the policy known as Open Admissions. The combination of the new policy, new students and professional and local negativism brought about the creation of a new vocabulary and a new set of metaphors, as well as a need to re-examine the traditional vocabulary and metaphors used in conjunction with the notion of…

AN EVALUATION OF PAST AND PRESENT PROGRAMS FOR ETHNIC DESEGREGATION, ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND PROPOSALS FOR FURTHER STEPS TO THAT END ARE PRESENTED. IN 1954, STEPS WERE TAKEN TO ANALYZE THE RACIAL MIXTURE OF THE SCHOOLS, BY 1958 A COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED ZONING, SITE SELECTION AND CONSTRUCTION, AND PUPIL REDISTRIBUTION TO IMPROVE…

THE SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS WAS BASED ON WHETHER THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'S ENROLLMENT CONSISTED OF 90 PERCENT NEGRO AND/OR PUERTO RICAN, OR 90 PERCENT ANY OTHER ETHNIC GROUP, AND WHETHER THESE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS FED INTO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS. SCHOOLS WITH A 95 PERCENT OR LARGER ETHNIC GROUP WERE USED IN THE STUDY. TO ACQUAINT AND ORIENT…

THE NEW YORK CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION HAS INSTITUTED A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS TO ACHIEVE ETHNIC BALANCE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEMS OF RACIAL INTEGRATION, WHICH RESULT FROM HOUSING, MOVEMENT OF WHITE POPULATION, GROWTH OF NONPUBLIC EDUCATION, AND THE DIFFERENTIAL RATE OF ETHNIC CHANGE IN THE VARIOUS BOROUGHS, REFLECT A CONDITION OF THE…

Because Americans are spending increasing sums on education without noticeable improvement in student achievement, school choice is becoming the hottest item on today's reform agenda. Choice must not be limited to the affluent; it is most needed by financially poor parents whose children are trapped in the most inferior schools. The chief…

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RELATIONS AND COMMUNITY TENSION RECOMMENDED PROPOSALS TO INTEGRATE NEW YORK CITY'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS. SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED--(1) COMPREHENSIVE 4-YEAR HIGH SCHOOLS AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS FOR GRADES 5 THROUGH 8 SHOULD BE DEVELOPED. (2) PRIMARY UNITS EXTENDING FROM PREKINDERGARTEN CLASSES THROUGH THE FOURTH GRADE…