A randomized field trial involving 883 students at 23 schools in three urban cities assessed the effectiveness of Experience Corps[R] (EC), a program that places older adult volunteers in elementary schools to tutor students who are poor readers. Students were assessed at the beginning and end of the academic year with standardized reading…

This study of the impact of the homeschool connection on achievement was part of a larger interpretive case study which examined high achieving readers in a low performing school. The primary participants in the study were 7 African American 6th graders. Caregivers' thoughts on education and their aspirations for their children were examined…

Enacted in 1997, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) represented the largest expansion of U.S. public health care coverage since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid 32 years earlier. Although the program has recently been reauthorized, there remains a considerable lack of thorough and well-designed evaluations of the program. In…

The authors attempt to tell the story of "Brown" and "Parents Involved" on educational inequality and connect these topics to economic competition globally. "Brown" came about in the 1950s in a much different environment: America was less diverse racially and ethnically, and economic competition on a global scale was…

This meta-analysis of 22 studies examines the relationship between phonics and the academic achievement of urban minority elementary school children. Further analyses distinguish between those studies that are of higher quality than the others and those studies that examine all minority students and mostly minority students. Results indicate a…

This article examines the experiences of 20 students of color who voluntarily attend a racially integrated school. The study draws from the Socio-Cultural dimension of schooling as a framework to understand how the students of color fared on a social, cultural, and environmental level within a predominantly White school. Through a questionnaire,…

Using data from the 1992 National Education Longitudinal Survey, this study examined the effects of student religious commitment on academic achievement. Results indicate that very religious urban and non-urban children performed better on most academic measures than their less religious counterparts, even when controlling for race, gender, and…

As the quintessential right-to-education case, "Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka," (1954) addressed equality of educational opportunity for all students regardless of race. Recently, the term "digital divide" has been used primarily to highlight inequities between various social groups with respect to acquiring computers and accessing the…

In light of the elimination of busing to achieve racial integration and judicial reluctance to consider creative, new ways to provide integrated, high quality learning environments for poor and minority children, advocates of the principles established by "Brown" must no longer accept the public schools as the best hope for providing integrated…

The imposition of minimum competency testing in high schools must be seen in a social and political context. Since many minority students have received an inferior education, minimum competency tests may be seen as a means of preventing these students from receiving their high school diplomas. (Author/RLV)

The achievement gap persists within U.S. classrooms. Although teachers do make a difference in terms of what and how much students achieve, educational practitioners and policy makers would be well served to consider social inequities created by demographic realities, instructional practices that engender broad student participation, and…

This study investigates the critical elements of parent involvement as related to children's improved academic achievement. Survey data were collected from 220 parents whose children attend three Chicago public elementary schools. The schools serve largely minority, low-income populations and score in the top third of the Illinois State…

Integration, testing practices, and the mandate for multicultural education have made individuals more aware of changing practices within the school community. Professionals, however, have not acted in a way that is fair to all children. There is a need for behaviors which reflect a congruence between an individual's professional role and a…

The essay discusses efforts carried out by a community action agency to examine the issues of school discipline and student suspensions during the desegregation of the Milwaukee Public Schools. (Author/RLV)