Counselors are pinnacle partners in addressing No Child Left Behind legislation and academic reform initiatives in urban schools. Unfortunately, many times the role and responsibility of the school counselor is misunderstood, underutilized and inappropriately administered in menial and routine tasks on campus. This article discusses the…

The deleterious effects of early substance use have been well documented. Past research has produced mixed results regarding the extent to which the profile of risk differs for urban African American and suburban Caucasian youth. Sixth graders from urban (n = 420; 92% African American) and suburban (n = 391; 89% Caucasian) schools in metropolitan…

The Houston Community College (HCC) 2011-2012 Fact Book provides statistical information about the college district. It is important for the reader to be aware that data presented in this publication may differ slightly from statistics found in other district reports. Such variances may result from differences methodology including the source of…

This study addressed concerns about the potential for differential gains in reading during the first 2 years of formal schooling (K-1) versus the next 2 years of schooling (1st-3rd grade). A multilevel piecewise regression with a node at spring 1st grade was used in order to define separate regressions for the two time periods. Empirical Bayes…

This report presents trial school-district-level results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics 2003, 2005, and 2007 assessments at grades 4 and 8 for 10 urban public-school districts: Atlanta City School District; Austin Independent School District (ISD); Boston School District; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools; City…

The Nation's Report Card[TM] informs the public about the academic achievement of elementary and secondary students in the United States. Report cards communicate the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a continuing and nationally representative measure of achievement in various subjects over time. The results from…

Peer- and teacher-reported prosocial behavior of 339 6th-grade (11-12 years) and 8th-grade (13-14 years) students was examined in relation to prosocial goals, self-processes (reasons for behavior, empathy, perspective taking, depressive affect, perceived competence), and contextual cues (expectations of peers and teachers). Goal pursuit…

This study examined the influence of perceived parental, peer, and cultural factors on Black American adolescent attitudes toward substance use. One-hundred-eight Black American youth (grades 9-12) from economically disadvantaged urban neighborhoods of New York, completed self-report measures on: (a) parent-child involvement, parental supervision,…

Objective: To examine symptomatology and mental health service use following students' contact with a large urban school district's suicide prevention program. Method: In 2001 school district staff conducted telephone interviews with 95 randomly selected parents approximately 5 months following their child's contact with the district's suicide…

This article explores racial and ethnic differences in adjusting to college and the consequences different adjustment strategies have on college outcomes. The author begins by summarizing the major perspectives in education on the roots of college attrition. In the process of comparing and contrasting these perspectives, she highlights three…

Comedian, actor and philanthropist Bill Cosby made headlines earlier this year, and not for a starring role in a new TV show or because of a multimillion-dollar gift to a college or university, but for his comments surrounding low-income African Americans at an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision,…

Black and White students who enrolled in college by age 20 were selected from a national probability sample, in order to estimate the prevalence of having children and the effect of having a child on probability of graduation with a bachelor's degree. Black students reported significantly higher rates of having children than White students, but…

In this article, the author discusses the 50th Anniversary Commission of the "Brown v. Board of Education" that draws both praise and criticism from nationally prominent figures in education, civil rights, and government--including its own commissioners. As the federal commission commemorates the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue of "Data Notes" looks at the relationship between institutional size differences at Achieving the Dream colleges. Nearly half of Achieving the Dream colleges are classified as small, but these colleges account for only 11 percent of students in the fall 2002 cohort. Only 29…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue examines the percentages and numbers of students who attempted and completed both developmental and college-level math. The analysis reveals that a large portion of students either do not attempt or do not complete developmental math coursework. Furthermore, the data show…