Parents make choices about their children's education within a neoliberal, racist system. Measurable metrics are used to evaluate school quality within a competitive, market-based system, yet those indicators often do not align with parents' definitions of a good school, and they obscure the role of race. This paper examines how white, privileged…

On November 8, 2016, while the rest of the world anxiously awaited the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, a subset of voters with a keen interest in education had their eyes on Massachusetts. This was the day Bay Staters would vote on Ballot Question 2, a proposal to raise the state's cap on public charter schools by up to 12 new schools…

This study is a critical discourse analysis of the New Jersey Opt-Out Movement. In 2015, and in response to the increasing standardization of US public school instruction, and over-use of high-stakes testing, NJ parents began to refuse to allow their children to take a key end-of-the year exam, the PARCC. We employ the concepts of master and…

This article reports on an analysis of episodes of invalid or controversial arguments that occurred while two different groups of students worked on similar fraction tasks and examine the role that these types of arguments played in the development of students' reasoning. One group consisted of suburban, middle-class, fourth graders who worked on…

A variety of recent research has shown that the academic achievement gap has been growing between low- and middle-income students. Socioeconomic status has proven to have a large influence on academic attainment as well as the educational opportunities that a child is offered. This paper argues that, because poverty significantly affects children…

This dissertation examines the formation, reformation, and standardization of land-grant colleges in the Northeastern United States during the last four decades of the nineteenth century. It is a history that explores the turbulent origins of land-grant colleges in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont,…

It's fairly well known that high-quality preschool programs can have life-altering impacts on disadvantaged children, including reductions in school dropout and crime, and increased earnings. Not as well known is that terrific preschool programs have important academic and social benefits for middle-class children too. Decades of research indicate…

In this article, a principal demonstrates a high level of caring by visiting at-risk students in their homes each summer. As the principal of a relatively small, middle class community's only middle level school, the author has the opportunity and responsibility to connect with many students and their respective families--and indirectly, with many…

A STUDY TO DETERMINE IF READING READINESS MATERIALS ARE NECESSARY IN THE FIRST GRADE REVEALS THAT THEY ARE NOT. THE EXPERIMENT WAS CONDUCTED IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF A SUBURBAN MIDDLE CLASS COMMUNITY IN NEW JERSEY. TESTS WERE ADMINISTERED IN SEPTEMBER TO ALL PUPILS OF THE FIRST GRADE. NO READING INSTRUCTION HAD BEEN GIVEN IN KINDERGARTEN AND NO…

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN RISK TAKING WERE STUDIED IN A SAMPLE OF 162 MIDDLE-CLASS CHILDREN IN GRADE 5. MEASURES OF ANXIETY, CREATIVITY, DEFENSIVENESS, INTELLIGENCE, AND RISK TAKING WERE ANALYZED TO DETERMINE CERTAIN SELECTED RELATIONSHIPS. THE AUTHOR CONCLUDED THAT CREATIVITY BEARS A MORE POWERFUL RELATIONSHIP TO RISK TAKING THAN DOES…

The present study investigated early literacy development in minority middle-class families. The subjects were parents and preschool children ages 3-5 that attended a private early childhood center in Irvington, New Jersey. Each family was given one home visit and a library visit. The literacy practices of the families were observed and recorded…

New Jersey aids private institutions but is deficit in low-priced open access to public colleges. Discussed is higher education in New Jersey in light of this historical condition; pricing policy; social equity; decisions, especially regarding institutional support, student aid, and public tuition; and the "free market." While the…

This report examines the Annie E. Casey Foundation's work with children and families in Camden, New Jersey, providing a framework for assessing public and private investments, policies, and practices undertaken on behalf of Camden's families and neighborhoods. Camden is part of the Casey Foundation's Making Connections initiative, which advances…