Background: Universities continue to undertake a range of initiatives to combat inequities and build diverse, inclusive campuses. Diversity action plans are a primary means by which U.S. postsecondary institutions articulate their professed commitment to an inclusive and equitable climate for all members of the university and advance strategies to…

In this essay, Rebecca Zwick confronts the controversy surrounding the use of standardized tests in college admissions. She examines the degree to which the SAT and its lesser known cousin, the ACT, limit access to college, particularly for racial and ethnic minorities, and considers two alternative admissions policies that do not involve tests:…

A persistent and pervasive disparity in academic achievement exists between ethnic minority and English Learner students and their White and Asian peers. This qualitative single-case study of a high-poverty, high-performing middle school focused on the cultural norms, practices, and programs that were perceived to be contributing to narrowing the…

Educators across the United States continue to enable a wider and more ethnically diverse proportion of students to achieve success in AP[R]. Significant inequities remain, however, which can result in traditionally underserved students not receiving the type of AP (Advanced Placement) opportunities that can best prepare them for college success.…

Available from: National Center for Law and the Handicapped, Inc., 1235 North Eddy Street, South Bend, Indiana 46617. Reviewed are the legal and social arguments involved in Mattie T. v. Holladay, a suit in which lawyers for 26 handicapped Mississippi children claim the plaintiffs have been denied educational services. (CL)

This comprehensive reader features 24 chapters in 5 primary areas of educational research. Part One, "Leadership, Management, and Organizational Behavior," demonstrates that leadership has a strong conceptual basis that is basic in all human situations. It contains 6 articles: "The Nature of Leadership" (J. Gardner); "Give…

Author aks why that, as minorities have begun to make tremendous strides in educational achievement, educational achievement takes second place to career education skills development. (Author/CB)

Critiques the College Board's report, "Reaching the Top," which addresses educational underrepresentation of high-achieving minority students, examining its definition of achievement, noting problematic features, and discussing whether the evidence is compelling for poor achievement and for the central importance of academic achievement,…

This article stresses the importance of local PTA involving all parents in their programs, especially parents from minority groups. This article includes a checklist for rating local PTA. Also included is a brief case study of one PTA's successful efforts to increase the ethnic and language diversity of its membership. (IAH)

The paradox that schools should promote equality of opportunity for minority students and quality education for majority students, but that they cannot foster both goals at once, is explored. Discarding the current definitions makes it possible to propose a model in which equality and quality are mutually supporting and enhancing. (SLD)

Considers the development of equality in public education since the Brown v. Board of Education decision. The 1973 Rodriguez decision has had consequences as profound as those of Brown by hobbling attempts to secure a fair distributions of resources in U.S. public schools. The importance of educational reform as an aspect of social justice is…

As social and economic stratification between black and white Americans persists at the dawn of the twenty-first century, disparities in educational outcomes remain an especially formidable barrier. Recent research on the black/white achievement gap points to a perplexing pattern in this regard. Schools appear to exacerbate black/white disparities…

The purpose of this paper is to suggest that a pragmatic view of music education--one that considers the presence or absence of music instruction in US schools, the quality of that instruction, and the opportunities for professional growth available to music teachers in those schools--is a necessary part of discussions related to social justice…

The core structure of the university has remained intact through the storm of the sixties. Alterations with respect to governance and to minority groups appear to be a part of previously established developmental trends as well as functions of the period of turbulence. (JH)