This analysis of the Atlanta test-cheating scandal differs markedly from the version reported in the press. Using discourse analysis, I examined over 50 articles published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" ("AJC"), the hometown newspaper at the center of the investigation. Because newspapers are a primary source of…

This monograph focuses on the main populations and topics in the college readiness literature. The population of U.S. youth who are traditionally aged high school and college students dominates research; for the most part, the authors concentrate on literature about this population. Within this broad parameter, the review is centrally concerned…

School districts should be allowed to dispense with labeling children as disadvantaged and to use the Title I support they receive in schools that have a high proportion of children from poor families. (Author/MLF)

Summer job programs for youth, including Federal programs and private-public partnerships, have come, over the years, to emphasize either short-term or long-term goals. Short-term goals include providing summer activity to the largest possible number of teens, providing income to economically disadvantaged youth, and providing structured work…

Most barriers to higher education fall into one of six categories: personal access barriers (e.g., lack of information, low self-esteem, or loss of motivation); socioeconomic barriers (e.g., lack of transportation or child care); sociocultural barriers (e.g., family pressures or language problems); socioeducational barriers (e.g., inadequate…

Considers the role of social welfare and public assistance policies in the promotion of African American family life. Examines race, sex, and age demographics as predictors of poverty in the United States. Reviews the history of social programming and public family assistance, including intervention assumptions and demographic characteristics that…

This report summarizes recent research about the effective education of poor minority students in rural areas. Significant barriers to high student performance are briefly discussed and research findings about strategies designed to overcome these barriers and to lead to high performance are reviewed. Solutions for educating disadvantaged students…

Explores the findings from a two-year participant observation study of educational reform in an inner-city setting. The author deconstructs a major sociological/educational assumption instantiated in the reforms and attempts to delineate an alternative theoretical framework for understanding educational reform failure in inner-city situations. (GR)

Early childhood education and care (educare) combined with community development presents a unique opportunity to stimulate the disadvantaged and oppressed sectors of the population towards improved economic status, increased self-confidence and self-esteem, and human development. The three main elements of this approach are the community,…

This report reviews school department data and interviews with officials and others involved in the Norfolk (Virginia) school resegregation plan designed to stem White flight and increase parental involvement. The report finds that all the basic assumptions the local community and the court had about the potential benefits of undoing the city's…

This report presents various facts relating to the relatively low status of blacks and other minorities in United States society. The information provided is taken from periodicals and government documents, and covers the following areas: (1) economic and employment status; (2) health; (3) housing; (4) education; (5) media; and (6) government. For…

Compares and critiques Daniel Patrick Moynihan's 1965 labor report, "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action," and the televised version of it, Bill Moyer's special report "The Vanishing Family: Crisis in Black America." Discusses how gender, class, and race shape a group's status in society. (JS)

Issues pertinent to the positive and lasting reform of innercity school systems serving disadvantaged minority youth are explored in this paper. Current and past reforms to improve school effectiveness have dealt primarily with instructional deficiencies of the school. However, three clusters of problems must be addressed: institutional…

While numerous studies have identified economic, social, and environmental conditions related to stress, greater stress has been found to be related to poverty, unemployment, assembly line work, crowding, and chronic exposure to noise. These stressful situations most frequently confront people with little personal, economic, or political resources…

The number of poor people has increased. The migration of whites and working class blacks from the inner city has led to a growing concentration of black urban poverty. The class transformation of the inner city has led to its social isolation. (BJV)