The Educational Policy Institute (EPI) is an international think tank launched in 2002 "to expand educational opportunity for low-income and other historically underrepresented students through high-level research and analysis." Financial aid to students is a major element in expanding opportunity and thus is a major focus of EPI. Alex…

Background: Educational research shows differences in experience, access, and outcomes across racial groups with some groups advantaged and others disadvantaged. One of the concepts used to explain racial differences, racialization, is a taken-for-granted term that is yet to be fully defined in the context of the school. We differentiate the term…

This article examines the effect of history and law in the segregation and integration of Latinas/os in schools. Initially, a Critical Race Theory (CRT) analysis of the question of the effects of Latina/o school desegregation history and law on their present-day educational conditions highlighted the reasons for the omni-present struggle for…

With the rapid increase in immigration from Latin America to the USA, many US high schools are struggling with the thorny question of how best to educate newcomer immigrant youth with low levels of English proficiency. This paper examines what some might consider an anachronistic educational model--a segregated bilingual high school for Latino…

Although scholars have examined historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in terms of their educational effectiveness for African American students compared to predominantly white institutions (PWIs), there is a lack of similar research on Hispanic students at Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) and PWIs. This study uses data from the…

This paper first examines the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 on the academic performance of Latino students in the U.S. Although the purpose behind NCLB is to help improve academic proficiency in the areas of reading, language arts, and mathematics, research demonstrates that there is still an achievement gap between…

Many informal science educational programs aim to help students improve their understanding of science. Little research, however, has focused specifically on the direct experiences and subsequent ideas of culturally and linguistically diverse girls when they engage with science in informal learning settings. The research described in this report…

This research examined language, ethnicity, and course participation among participants at a community college in a poor, rural county bordering Mexico. Some participants' first language was English; the language of other participants was Spanish, and many were bilingual. The goal was to examine a Web-enhanced course for differences between…

Data from a unique new survey of over 1,000 teachers in K-12 public schools across the country show that our teaching force is largely segregated. Using this new dataset, I find that teachers of different races are teaching students of very different racial composition, adding an extra dimension to growing student racial segregation. White…

One explanation for the widening achievement gap in America and throughout Europe between ethnic minorities/immigrants, and Whites is the influence of cultural stereotypes on attributions made by both educators and students. This paper explores some factors that increase the likelihood that educators will consciously or unconsciously rely on…

What challenges do political science educators face teaching in the Hispanic-serving classroom? How do they adapt their teaching styles and strategies when confronting these challenges? This preliminary study explores these and related questions through a survey conducted of political science instructors at colleges and universities across Texas.…

This is a qualitative study in a school district in a large city in the Southwest in response to the research question, "What are staff and student expectations for, and assessment of, three "at-risk" programs in this large school district?" Four thematic findings from observations and interviews in four classes in two high school alternative…

In the cycle of a student's college life, student affairs professionals have opportunities to engage parents and families. On these occasions, parents are searching for information about the institution and the experiences of their children. It is important that student affairs professionals be ready to provide this information and respond in a…

This study examines longitudinal student progress and achievement on the elementary, middle, and high school levels in relation to accountability policy incentives in a large urban district in Texas. Using quantitative analyses supplemented by qualitative interviews, the authors found that high-stakes testing policies that rewarded and punished…

Large nationally representative samples of White, Black, Hispanic, Asian American, and American Indian students were used in this study to examine current patterns and recent trends in racial, ethnic, and gender differences in school discipline from 1991 to 2005. Findings revealed that Black, Hispanic, and American Indian youth are slightly more…