This article addresses tensions between how researchers have conceptualized and operationalized adolescent reading motivation and how a group of Black girl readers perceive and enact reading motivation. Through a grounded theory approach, this qualitative study offers an initial exploration into mapping a race-reimaged reading motivation construct…

The inclusion of Black learners in mathematics education discourse is typically achieved by way of deficit framing and the need for intervention rather than discussions of Black learners' brilliance (Gholson et al., 2012; Leonard & Martin 2013; Martin, 2012). Although mathematical illiteracy has become a signifier of Blackness, it is not a…

The Conover Solution is a nonparametric method used to analyze relative growth in students' achievement on state tests administered on two or more occasions. However, there has been very little research assessing the robustness of this method in the presence of missing data. Using vertically scaled and non-vertically scaled data from the math…

A growing body of research shows that students benefit when they demographically match their teachers. However, little is known about how matching affects social-emotional development. We use student-fixed effects to exploit changes over time in the proportion of teachers within a school grade who demographically match a student to estimate…

School assignment in Boston and New York City came to national attention in the 1970s as courts across the country tried to integrate schools. Today, district-wide choice allows Boston and New York students to enroll far from home. Although 1970s desegregation efforts likely benefited minority students, urban school transportation is increasingly…

This special issue highlights biracial/multiracial/multiethnic early adolescents as a fast-growing demographic warranting greater inclusion in developmental research. We address several likely barriers to inclusion related to the conceptualization and measurement of biracial/multiracial/multiethnic status and offer recommendations for including…

This article sheds light on the elusive presence of race, racism, and Whiteness in Norwegian primary schools. Empirical examples from observations at six schools exemplify how race and racism appear as taboo concepts, but nonetheless play central roles in structuring conversations in the classroom. I argue that applying an affective theoretical…

This is the policy brief for the discussion paper, "Still Worth the Trip? School Busing Effects in Boston and New York." While choice systems offer students in segregated neighborhoods access to schools that may be more integrated and of higher quality, does busing lead to improved academic performance as measured by higher test scores…

This study examined data from the Institute of Education Sciences' evaluation of school-based mentoring (SBM) programs to establish a causal relationship between SBM and reduction of the academic achievement gap between African American and White middle school students. Participation in SBM improved the academic performance of all students. The…

We evaluated a brief, bystander bullying intervention (STAC) adapted for ethnically blended, low-income middle schools. We examined changes in bullying victimization and bias-based bullying victimization among a sample of sixth-grade students using a mixed factorial design. Students reported a significant decrease in bullying victimization and…

Using a DisCrit intersectional lens and statistical and spatial methods, we trace how the creation of K-8 schools functioned to create pockets of privilege in one urban U.S. school district. K-8 schools were both whiter and wealthier than district averages, serving as "enclave" schools. Although far fewer students with disabilities were…

This case describes the leadership role and challenges in moving a school in a more inclusive direction for students with disabilities. Assistant Principal Mosier plays a key role and in that role meets Charles, sixth grader, who has been educated in self-contained special education. While 58% of the students at Reynolds are African American and…

Entering middle school can cause apprehension for young adolescents who face many cognitive, physical, social, and emotional changes. A quantitative, descriptive study was designed to identify and explain the concerns of rising sixth graders (n = 225) regarding their transition to the middle grades. Survey data were analyzed with regard to gender,…

There has been a long-standing concern among education researchers and policy makers that public school choice may lead to increased racial isolation. Improving on aggregate comparisons, I examine the sorting of students into charter schools by tracking individual students from their charter school of enrollment back to the school they were…

This study investigated early adolescent friendship selection and social influence with regard to academic motivation (self-efficacy and intrinsic value), engagement (effortful and disruptive behavior), and achievement (GPA calculated from report card grades) among 6th graders (N = 587, 50% girls at Wave 1; N = 576, 52% girls at Wave 2) followed…