The purpose of this study, through an analysis of the literature review of general scholars in the field of school poverty, equity, efficiency, and student achievement results, was to determine whether economic disparity had a direct statistical significance to student achievement gaps. Specifically, identification of the five socioeconomic tiers…

This work is important because it concerns students whose aptitudes, talents, and gifts may have been overlooked and misunderstood because these students lacked the correct tools. Specifically, these students lacked the tools to appropriately respond to conflict or stress within the school setting. The lack of such tools easily leads to suspension…

This study examines differences in educational experiences and outcomes for high school (HS) students who participated in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program and earned full diplomas compared to those who participated in the IB Diploma Program but did not earn the diploma. ACT scores, after-HS placement, and HS graduation rates of…

"It is dark under the lamp"-a proverb that frequently refers to the misery that prevails in confined, lit environments. In terms of economic development, urban regions have risen to prominence as centers of excellence. Cities are populated by individuals from varied cultural, professional, and economic backgrounds. The disparities in…

Limited culturally responsive knowledge, skills, and engagement among school leaders contributes to significant racial disparities seen in diverse student outcomes (school pushout, rates in school discipline, and opportunity gap) and remains a pernicious problem for public schools in the United States. Also, school leaders and teachers often lack…

School district decentralization typically shifts authority and resources from central office administrators at the district level to leaders at the school level. Although decentralization reforms have been prevalent in urban educational contexts for decades, they often yield poor results for low-income, minoritized communities. In this article,…

The inequalities between Black and White Americans have left Black people with less education amongst other disparities. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. The Board of Education ended racial segregation in public schools. Today, sixty-nine years later, Black children often still attend highly segregated and underfunded schools.…

Despite ongoing reform efforts, academic achievement in the U.S. educational system is declining both on internal measures as well as on international comparative assessments. While students from affluent backgrounds continue to do well academically, there is a growing achievement gap as underprivileged urban students fall further behind. This…

This article investigates the racial and gender dynamics of educational inequality in suburban public schools in the United States during an era of rapid demographic change. As suburban schools transition from predominantly White enclaves to more diverse settings, it is unclear to what extent the popular narrative of "suburban advantage"…

This research examines teachers' perceptions of cultural diversity training in a suburban school district. While there is an impressive amount of research on how large urban school districts deal with culture and equity in their schools, there is room for more research on how the smaller suburban school districts handle it. This study will add to…

This study examined the tenets of cultural mismatch theory using survey data from 518 high school students. Structural equation modeling examined how cultural norms influence relationships among student demographic characteristics, school location, and social, psychological, and academic outcomes. Students who identified as Black and those…

In "The Enduring Promise of America's Great City Schools," Michael Casserly presents a forthright assessment of the past performance and future potential of large urban PreK-12 school districts in the United States. From a vantage of nearly five decades of work within the Council of the Great City Schools, which now represents…

Scholars have documented the effects of accountability policies on student outcomes and, to a lesser extent, instruction. Beyond test preparation and curriculum narrowing, little empirical evidence has examined the relationship between policy and pedagogy. Guided by social cognitive and achievement goal theories, this study explored the…

In this paper, we examine the fundamental and complex role that time plays in the learning process. We begin by developing a conceptual framework to elucidate the multiple obstacles schools face in converting allocated time into learning time. We then synthesize the causal research and document a clear positive effect of time on student…

The digital divide and digital equity have long been a concern for educators, and public schools. In 2020 when the COVID-19 global pandemic swept across the country, public schools closed for in person classes and moved to a new paradigm of online only classes, issues of digital equity and the digital divide became a critical focus for families…