Accounts of educational opportunity gaps for Black boys are overwhelmingly focused on later years of development. Achievement and discipline disparities are evident across their lifespan. Life course and intersectionality theories were used to develop a framework for understanding obstacles Black boys face during their preschool through high…

Despite progress over the past decade in math and reading, proficiency scores of African American boys continue to trail behind those of White, Latino, and Asian male counterparts. African American boys' reading and math disparities have been attributed to the negative portrayal and the pervasive deficit-oriented discourse about these young men.…

In "Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Promising Practices for African American Male Students," I take us on a journey into teachers' perceptions of the impact of implementing culturally responsive pedagogical (CRP) practices on the student learning outcomes of African American male students. The book also helps to identify teachers'…

Austin Independent School District (AISD) and the University of Texas's Project MALES began a partnership to design a mentoring system for young men of color in hopes of improving the the matriculation and sustainability of this group in college by addressing the social, economic, and cultural obstacles impacting these young men. This strong…

The Office of Black Male Student Achievement (OBMSA) of Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), established in 2014, is one of the first in the country. The innovative work of the OBMSA is centered on student voice and student thought. After getting input from parents and families, community members, educators, and young Black males themselves, the…

After one failed attempt to buttress the prospects of black males at a racially diverse high school, teachers fashioned a life skills class that was heavy on racial pride and personal insight. In so doing they borrowed liberally from the Motivational Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching by Margery Ginsberg and Raymond Wlodkowski that leans…

The African American male psyche is a complicated multi-layered mixture of outside media influences, stereotypes, peer pressure, how they see themselves, and how they think others see them. This article describes how school and public librarians can help raise the literacy efforts of young African American males. It cites the need for libraries to…

This article describes the work of Oscar Lewis, Paul Willis, and John U. Ogbu, who used the concept of culture to explain the difficulties some children had in schools. Although Lewis, Willis, and Ogbu were well trained as ethnographers and their work influenced educators, critics complained that their explanations did not fit their evidence. The…

This issue of ETS Policy Notes (Vol. 22, No. 1) provides highlights from a recent symposium sponsored by ETS and the Children Defense Fund (CDF), "Advancing Success for Black Men in College," held on June 23, 2014, in Washington, DC. The symposium is part of a two-conference series: It was the 18th of ETS's "Addressing Achievement…

Much of the scholarship on Black males in the educational literature focuses on the achievement gap; their underrepresentation in gifted and advanced placement programs; their overrepresentation in special education programs and their high rates of school suspensions and expulsions. Although overrepresented in special education, Black males with…

School librarians are natural partners in the effort to improve the education, social and employment outcomes of black males. School librarians in Durham, N.C., have been working to close the literacy gap for black males. One of the literacy initiatives centered on the work of Alfred W. Tatum who believes that efforts to engage black males in…

Oftentimes, when the subject of Black students' talent maximization in gifted and advanced courses and programs is broached, students are treated as a monolithic entity. In fact, there is considerable evidence to suggest that unsuccessful achievement of academic excellence may be more troublesome for males than females at many points along the…

Nearly half (45%) of students in DC Public Schools are males of color. Despite improvements district-wide, there are still considerable achievement gaps between young men of color and their peers. We must work harder to ensure that all students--particularly boys and young men of color--share equally in District of Columbia Public Schools' (DCPS')…

In this paper, we provide a particular critique of policy-making processes related to addressing the gender achievement gap in the Ontario context. The focus is on tracing the effects of a neoliberal regime of accountability in terms of the designation of boys as a disadvantaged group alongside other minority groups who have historically faced…

Literacy achievement is one of the most reliable indicators of educational, social, and economic success. In 2012, the National Year of Reading, boys still make up the majority of students struggling with literacy skills. Boys' literacy is an issue that affects us all. This paper provides an overview of research related to boys and reading, and…