In 1998 the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics held a working conference on issues pertaining to effective mathematics education in schools serving poor communities. This paper reprises some themes of that conference and highlights potentially important issues to consider in a research agenda with an intentional focus on rural mathematics…

The mission of the Children's Defense Fund Action Council is to "Leave No Child Behind," to do what is necessary to meet the needs of children and their parents, and to ensure a healthy, safe, fair, and moral start in life for all children. This guide examines the negative impact of the George W. Bush administration's budget and policy…

This digest assesses the human rights situation of poor and marginalized children in urban areas around the world, considering the range of problems that these children and their families face, drawing attention to the need for actions based on a knowledge of urban areas and potential urban advantages, and examining the capacity of competent,…

This report describes the foreign-born population of the United States in 2002, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey. Overall, more than one-third of the foreign-born population is from Mexico or another Central American country. The foreign-born are more likely to live in the west, while natives are more likely to…

Though metropolitan Boston is still one of the nation's whitest metropolitan areas, its growth is increasingly non-white and multiracial. Given the demographic trends and the high fragmentation that characterizes the metropolitan area, students are most segregated in regions where they are highly concentrated: black students in Boston, Latino and…

This report presents statistics on the demographic, social, and economic status of the civilian, noninstitutionalized black population in the United States, based on the March 1999 Current Population Survey. Overall, Blacks continue to be concentrated in the south. The black population is younger than the non-Hispanic white population. Fewer black…

In 2000, the U.S. Department of Education and the Consortium for Policy Research in Education invited a range of people involved in schoolwide improvement to the Regional Forum on Turning Around Low-Performing Schools. Participants examined the responsibilities of federal, state, and local entities to do what is needed for students in high poverty…

This paper documents how a group of concerned parents and the New Settlement Apartments (NSA), a unique housing development group in New York City that manages 900 units of low to moderate income housing, used community organizing to try to raise academic achievement in their neighborhood elementary school. It discusses why schools in low-income…

Most of the predominantly Hispanic students at Los Fresnos High School (LFHS), Texas, speak both Spanish and English, qualify for reduced-price or free lunches, and are considered at-risk. LFHS students historically scored poorly on the California Achievement Test and Texas Assessment of Academic Skill, and many dropped out of school when they…

This report highlights the most recent indicators of social and economic conditions in rural areas for use in developing rural policies and programs. The economic expansion of the 1990s greatly benefited rural economies. Rural areas attracted both urban residents and immigrants. Hispanics accounted for over 25 percent of nonmetropolitan population…

This study was a replication of the method used by R. Bickel and C. Howley (2000), applying the approach to Washington state academic performance of fourth and seventh graders. While Bickel and Howley focused on the 8th grade Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the 11th grade Georgia High School Graduate Test, this study examined performance on the…

Data from Ecuador's Living Standard and Measurement Surveys were used to analyze the characteristics and determinants of child labor and schooling. Of particular interest was the influence of adult wages on child labor. Survey data on children aged 10-17 included sex, age, rural or urban residence, monthly wages, whether or not attending school,…

In December 2001, the Education Trust released preliminary findings from its new database, Dispelling the Myth Online, in a report titled Dispelling the Myth Revisited (DTMR). This followup report is the first of several multilayered looks at high-performing schools in the database. It contains additional information about DTMR schools. The lists…

This course textbook has been adapted from the four-volume "Handbook of Applied Developmental Science" (SAGE 2003), a work that offers a detailed roadmap for action and research in ensuring positive child, youth, and family development. In 20 chapters, "Applied Developmental Science: An Advanced Textbook" brings together theory and application…

In South Africa where poverty defines the lives of the majority, technological resources are not just limited and unequally distributed in schools, but also their availability does not necessarily translate into use. The paper explores issues related to accessibility and (non-) use of technology for mathematics learning and teaching in poor…