Education policymakers working to address the impacts of growing economic and racial inequality on students often look to community schools as an effective approach for supporting students and their families in communities facing concentrated poverty. Through partnering with community agencies and offering important resources, community schools…

The report on which this brief is based synthesizes the research evidence about the impact of community schools on student and school outcomes. Its aim is to support and inform school, community, district, and state leaders as they consider, propose, or implement community schools as a strategy for providing equitable, high-quality education to…

Examines the historical, political, and economic context of differentiated schooling. Argues that tracking perpetuates inequality. Evaluates the influence on education of the politics of economic scarcity, social conservatism, and assumptions about abilities and the role of schools in providing equal opportunity. (KH)

This study examines the way the nation's educational system distributes opportunities to learn mathematics and science among various groups of students. Participation and achievement in mathematics and science by women, minorities, and the poor is disproportionately low. Minorities and the poor, especially in inner cities, have considerably fewer…

Continues the argument against tracking and ability grouping in schools. Traces circumstances and beliefs leading to this system of handling student diversity and shows how these factors obstruct schools' efforts to achieve two highly valued goals: academic excellence and equal opportunity. Suggests alternative approaches. (MLH)

School barriers to equal access need to be removed by fundamentally new policy initiatives at the state and district levels in order to assure educational opportunities for at-risk students. Gender, race, poverty and individual disabilities continue to generate barriers for at-risk students despite broad legal efforts at reform. The following…

Results of the "A Study of Schooling" survey indicate that the practice of tracking in secondary schools makes it difficult for schools to achieve either academic excellence or equality of educational opportunities. Tracking, furthermore, forces schools to perpetuate social and economic inequalities. Eight footnotes are appended. (IW)