Researchers explored how 13 states in which policymakers have adopted an A-F school letter grade accountability system performed on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) post-policy implementation. Researchers found mixed results, with approximately half of these 13 states increasing achievement post-policy, and the other…

Background: Data are limited regarding the prevalence of substance use among adolescents in rural and ethnically diverse communities. This study examined rates and sociodemographic correlates of lifetime substance use among adolescents in Mississippi, a rural state that is the poorest in the country (21.3% poverty rate) and has the largest…

In this dissertation, I address the issue of social inequalities in education and the role of the education system in confronting them. The project involves two main parts, one empirical and the other conceptual. In the first part--chapters 1 and 2--I address the practical dimension of how to reduce social inequalities in education by exploring…