Research has shown that students who like school have higher academic achievement and a lower incidence of disciplinary problems, absenteeism, truancy, and dropping out of school than do those who dislike school. Thus, one way to improve academic outcomes is to increase students' attraction to school. This study focused on the role of teachers in…

High school students have high ambitions but do not always make choices that maximize their likelihood of educational success. This was the motivation for investigating the relationships between high school sexual behavior and two important milestones in academic attainment: earning a high school diploma and enrolling in distinct postsecondary…

This article uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to investigate high school dropout and its association with the high school curriculum. In particular, it examines how combinations of career and technical education (CTE) and core academic courses influence the likelihood of leaving school. Hazards models indicate a…

Through several decades of research, a great deal has been written about trends in black-white test scores and the factors that may explain the gaps in different subject areas. Only a few studies have examined the changing relationships between gaps in students' test scores and family and school measures in nationally representative data over…

In the IQ and achievement test scores of 1,102 Chicago area fifth and sixth graders--black and white, middle and working class--differences in achievement emerge which cannot be attributed to race or class linked intellectual discrepancies. (Author/DE)

The article discusses an educational research study in which the differential effects of high school socioeconomic status (SES) and ability contexts upon the school and college going experience of White and Black males, using NLS data. Findings and implications are discussed. (Author/DB)

Evaluates general studies concerned with possible racial bias in IQ tests and concludes that IQ tests are not biased against Blacks and/or lower-class Whites. (Author/DB)

Analyzes the way black and white working-class women define and claim knowledge, challenging feminist analyses that have identified a single or universal mode of knowing for women. Contends that women speak to complex gender, racial, and class relations of power that shape how they think about learning and knowing. (Author/SLM)

The extent to which urban adolescents identify themselves as students is examined utilizing content analysis of Who Am I?" responses. Variations according to race, social status level, and school racial composition are studied. The majority of students, both black and white, do identify themselves as students. (Author/DB)

Provides a comprehensive summary of research literature on the accuracy of proxy reports of parental status characteristics. Tests four hypotheses in relation to the influence of the child-respondent's age, race, and gender and the parents' education or occupation on the accuracy of reporting. (LS/Author)

Analyzes the extent that black and white students differ in cultural capital and educational resources and whether these attributes mediate the relation between family background and racial disparities in achievement. Suggests that racial variations in cultural and educational resources vary while these resources have a small mediating effect on…

This article explores how teachers perceived and interacted with white students in a predominately racial/ethnic minority school in Texas. On the basis of ethnographic data, the author found that different teachers expressed different views of the family and class backgrounds of white students in this setting, which ranged from "middle…

Changes in affirmative action policies in some states create possibilities for "natural experiments" to observe the effect of public policy on racial and ethnic inequality in American society. This study measured the impact of Initiative 200, a ballot measure that eliminated affirmative action in Washington State, on the transition from…

Compares the impact of the educational aspirations of parents, teachers, close relatives, and peers on student education expectations across various racial groups. Finds that levels of significant other aspirations and the effects of these aspirations vary by student racial status and type of significant others. (CAJ)

Argues that wealth can affect academic achievement, as well as help to explain the gap in black-white test scores and the racial achievement gap. Reveals that wealth affects achievement through its effect on the amount of cultural capital to which a child is exposed. Implications of the findings are discussed. (CAJ)