Parents face varying degrees of difficulty with getting involved in their children's schools. Using data from a study of parent members of a community organization and structuration theory, I examined how and why parents encountered resistance to their attempts to be more involved and to advocate for their children. This work can broaden our…

Hybrid and online courses are gaining attention as alternatives to traditional face-to-face classes. In addition to the pedagogical flexibility afforded by alternative formats, these courses also appeal to campuses aiming to maximize classroom space. The literature, however, reports conflicting results regarding the effect of hybrid and online…

Demographic and income disparities may impact food accessibility. Research has not yet well documented the precise location of healthy and unhealthy food resources around children's homes and schools. The objective of this study was to examine the food environment around homes and schools for all public school children, stratified by…

Until recently, the vast majority of students, entering California community colleges were placed in developmental courses, and relatively few went on to complete transfer-level courses in English and math. Several colleges responded to this longstanding challenge by experimenting with placement and curricular reforms. In 2017, new legislation (AB…

Using testing data from 2.1 million students in 10,000 schools in 49 states (plus D.C.), we investigate the role of remote and hybrid instruction in widening gaps in achievement by race and school poverty. We find that remote instruction was a primary driver of widening achievement gaps. Math gaps did not widen in areas that remained in-person…

We measure college enrollment selectivity gaps by race-ethnicity using a novel method that is sensitive to both the level (2- vs. 4-year) and selectivity of the college in which students enroll. We find that overall Hispanic-White and Black-White enrollment selectivity gaps closed in the United States between 1986 and 2014. This overall closing of…

Previous research has suggested that school climate is an important predictor of school safety and disorder. This study builds on this line of research by examining racial and ethnic differences in the relationship between school climate and disorder in a sample of high school students. The data for this study came from a larger longitudinal study…

A growing body of research indicates that exclusionary school discipline practices disproportionately impact students of color. Some scholars have theorized that racial disparities likely vary across school sub-contexts, as implicit bias in perceptions of student behavior may be more influential in locations where students and adults have weaker…

In FY17, the School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC) outperformed Florida and six other large urban school districts for the fourth consecutive year (FY14-FY17), and has consistently increased the graduation rate, including from FY16 to FY17. More importantly, the disparity between White students and their Black and Hispanic peers was reduced…

Education is highly valued in the United States as a means to acquire skills and experience that allow individuals to realize greater earnings over the course of their working lives. The value placed on education is evidenced by the fact that 89 percent of people 25 years and older have completed high school, and 60 percent have studied beyond the…

Graduates from AISD in the Classes of 2011 through 2014 were increasingly more likely than their peers statewide to have been college ready in English language arts, math, and both subjects. Economically disadvantaged, African American, and Hispanic students closed gaps against their peers, and White students continued to outperform their peers…

Stereotype threat has been shown to have deleterious impacts on the short- and long-term academic performance and psychological well-being of racial and ethnic minority students. Psychological variables related to this identity threat represent significant sources of achievement and attainment gaps relative to nonstereotyped Asian and white…

School-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) frameworks have been suggested as a promising approach to reducing disproportionality in school discipline practices; however, few studies have tested this potential, and findings have been mixed. In our sample of 27 urban schools and approximately 15,000 students, risk difference…

Although Black and Latinx students disproportionately face exclusionary school discipline, prior research finds that the likelihood of suspension for Black students decreases when they are taught by greater proportions of Black teachers. Little prior work, however, has examined whether these effects generalize to large, diverse, urban school…

Colleges across the California Community College (CCC) system have been preparing for changes to their assessment and placement processes associated with the required implementation of Assembly Bill (AB) 705. While many initiatives were already underway to increase students' completion of their education, including Guided Pathways and the Student…