The purpose of this study was to allow African American males across generations to share their perceptions of the factors that affected their schooling experiences and influenced their achievement in and beyond school. Individual interviews were conducted with men and boys within the context of their home environment; outside of the schools the…

My apologies to iconic hip-hop artists, De La Soul for I have shamelessly appropriated the title, "Stakes is high" to underscore the importance of the work ahead for educators, students, parents, community members, and researchers as we attempt to develop a generation of what I call "new century" students for a world we can hardly imagine. Through…

Several theories suggest that African American culture facilitates academic achievement, but others suggest that identifying with Black culture contributes to the achievement gap by undermining the academic performance among youth. These opposing perspectives are labeled "cultural compatibility theories" and "cultural incompatibility theories,"…

There is considerable interest in identifying ways to close the Black-White achievement gap. This study examines race differences in children's participation in after-school programs, an out-of-school time experience that may influence children's achievement. Using nationally representative data spanning 1995-2005, the authors find that African…

In order to ensure that American students are competitive with students in other countries, since the 1980s, U.S. policymakers have been trying to improve the K-12 public school system. Recent reform efforts have led to the current high-stakes testing movement, which measures student achievement and school effectiveness mainly by standardized test…

Data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction archive are used to assess the joint effect of race and gender on advanced academic (advanced placement and honors) course enrollment within a school district with an open enrollment policy. Using student SAT scores; the authors compare expected levels of advanced course enrollment for…

Racial inequality in education is a serious problem in the United States. The latest government attempt to address this problem was the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). This study used the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002) to examine the relationship between race and composite reading and math scores among Black and White…

This article explores the ways in which race is implicated in efforts to address the achievement gap in U.S. schools. Through an analysis of the theoretical and historical issues that have framed the relationship between race and intellectual ability, the author explains why the effort to close the achievement gap is politically and socially…

A research synthesis was conducted including three meta analyses, a review of the relevant literature, and supplemental analyses examining the relationship between personal faith and the reduction of the achievement gap. Personal faith included belief and adherence to any religion. The results of the three meta-analyses indicated that: (a)…

In this post-industrial global society, parental and student role strains may exacerbate social-ecological risks and academic difficulties of African American male students. Therefore, school-based interventions must ensure rigorous preparation, promote successful navigation of social-ecological risks, and mobilize cultural-ecological strengths to…

Closing the racial achievement gap has been a cornerstone of recent education reform, especially as accountability measures are increasingly relied upon to drive academic performance standards. This article questions the term "achievement gap" and its implication that White students perform better on standardized tests due to greater effort and…

This study provides empirical support for the Attributions for Scholastic Outcomes Scale-Black (ASO-B) as an instrument for measuring two latent traits that influence causal reasoning about the Black-White achievement gap: culture-blaming and structure-blaming. Within this conceptual framework, culture-blaming refers to the belief that Black…

A recent deluge of national studies and reports warns the United States that our future hangs in the balance because our educational system is failing our society. These studies cite projections that American competitiveness is at risk because we have failed to address a growing demographic inevitability--that the segment of the population that is…

Despite the intense focus on the achievement gap that exists between African American, Latino, and other students of color and their White counterparts, the achievement gap discourse keeps us locked in the deficit paradigm. This article challenges us to look at the inherent fallacies of the achievement gap discourse and place students' academic…

The "No Child Left Behind Act", a sequel to "Goals 2000", is designed to enact the theories of standards-based education reform which is predicated on the belief that high expectations and setting of goals will result in success for all students. This article highlights the major provisions provided in the framework of…