School assignment policies are a key lever to increase access to high performing schools and to promote racial and socioeconomic integration. For over 50 years, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) has bussed students of color from Boston, Massachusetts to relatively wealthier and predominantly White suburbs. Using a…

Research shows that when students have access to advanced coursework opportunities, they work harder and are more engaged in school, have fewer absences and suspensions and higher graduation rates. Unfortunately, many Black and Latino students and students from low-income backgrounds lack equitable access to advanced coursework opportunities, such…

As many U.S. school administrators create policies around hair, many often neglect to consider racial differences, especially those pertaining to hair care and maintenance styles. News media outlets have recently highlighted the ways schools create and sustain racially biased policies and schooling environments, demonstrating the media's role in…

Research shows student success in advanced-level science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs is connected to future educational and economic opportunities. Yet, Black students have been excluded from participating in rigorous mathematics courses that prepare them to engage in STEM majors and careers. This article reviews…

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, many students had to return to communities that they had intentionally left in order to access essential resources on campus. At home, Jadea T. Harris, a senior at Clark University, tried to focus on her academics, but everyone around her was in financial and physical survival mode. Often students of…

This three-manuscript dissertation used a rapid PDSA to improve teacher efficacy concerning designing and teaching an unleveled 9th grade science class. Leveling and tracking can lead to inequitable outcomes and experiences for minoritized students. However, designing and implementing effective heterogeneous, unleveled classes that meet the needs…

Of the roughly 3.5 million public school teachers in the United States, approximately 80% are White. In contrast, about 51.7% of the nation's students are African American, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian. This mismatch is expected to grow as the number of BIPOC students in our nation's public schools continues to increase. Studies have shown…

The impact of admissions process design on the racial diversity of schools and colleges has sparked heated debates. We study the pipeline into Boston's three public exam schools to understand racial gaps in enrollment. Admission to these schools has historically been based on a combination of grade point average (GPA) and a score on an optional…

While most community colleges admit all students who apply for admission, the vast majority have required students to demonstrate specified levels of literacy and numeracy before they can take college-level courses. Typically, students have been assessed using a single placement test, such as the College Board's ACCUPLACER. Colleges--or sometimes…

The objective of this article is to amplify the stories of female doctoral students and their passage through role conflicting periods of uncertainty and trauma. Specifically, this article highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest in the U.S. have impacted women pursuing doctorates in education. In addition to sharing personal…

Four-year public colleges may play an important role in supporting intergenerational mobility by providing an accessible path to a bachelor's degree and increasing students' earnings. Leveraging a midsize state's GPA- and SAT-based admissions thresholds for the four-year public sector, I use a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect…

The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) and the state's 28 public colleges and universities have collaborated over the last fifteen years to make easier and more transparent the process of transferring from a community college to a bachelor's degree program in one of the state's public colleges or universities. In this report, we…

The lower graduation rates of Black female students are a concern that colleges and universities needs to further explore. This study sought to hear from Black female students about their college experiences to further investigate causes and find solutions to the lower graduation rates of Black female students. Participants in Cycle 1 consisted of…

On the second day of a 2019 high-stakes English Language Arts assessment, Massachusetts 10th graders faced an essay question that was based on a passage from the novel "The Underground Railroad" and publicly characterized as racially insensitive. Though the state excluded the essay responses from student scores, an unresolved public…

Research in education, economics, and psychology suggests that teachers contribute in a variety of ways to the learning environment. They form relationships with students and help inculcate effective learning habits (Battistich et al., 1997; Davis, 2003; Thomas & Oldfather, 1997). Teaching practices mediate students' feelings of belonging and…