The data suggest a pattern of overall improvement among students in the Southeast and notable improvements among Blacks in the Southeast in reading at ages 9 and 13 and in science at age 9. The article speculates on reasons for these improvements. (Author/IRT)

Examines the climate in non-rural America that is and has been in part responsible for much of the suffering in rural areas. Shows how some specific rural inequities stem from federal policies. Appraises the Carter administration's response to rural problems. Suggests possible solutions. (SB)

"The crises of suburban development, inner-city industrial movement, shopping centers, suburban executive offices, decline of mass transit, New Towns and 'no growth' policy all received a good deal of their impetus from the interstate highway system. The decline of the urban school system can be dated to the start of the interstate highway…

Argues that the economic and political structures of the immigrant receiving areas shape immigrant trajectories. Provides a comparative discussion that examines how the distinctive urban contexts of immigrant receiving areas, such as New York City and Los Angeles, differ in shaping immigrants' future prospects in assimilating within their new…

Documents the largest shift back toward school segregation since Brown v. Board of Education (1954). It explains this trend through Supreme Court rulings and demographic changes due to immigration and the growth of suburbs. Hispanics, seen as the future predominant minority population in the United States, are already reported to be more…

Two studies evaluated the Process-Based Reading Enhancement Program (PREP) with 150 grade 4 economically disadvantaged children. Pre- and posttesting with the Word Attack and Word Identification subtests of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised found significant group-by-time interactions. Results support the efficacy of the PREP to improve…

Describes social, economic, and family structure variables that place specific Latino subgroups at risk, synthesizes available data on Latino children in the child welfare system, and discusses a direction for ethnic-specific child welfare policy for vulnerable Latino groups. Concludes that family services must promote economic and social…

Explores lessons that urban schools can learn from Catholic schools. Focuses on Cathedral High School in South Boston, Massachusetts which serves a population of mostly poor, minority students, of whom nearly one-half are not Catholic. Catholic schools have the reputation for efficient school management practices, disciplined college-bound…

Discusses proposed changes in housing appropriations by Congress in the fiscal year 1996. Two key factors are missing from the debate: (1) lack of public awareness and vocal constituency for funded projects; and (2) lack of understanding that affordable, safe, nontransient, and habitable housing is fundamental to meeting all basic needs. (FC)

Discusses why government school vouchers actually represent a setback to school reform and only contribute to diminishing school autonomy and distinctiveness. Argues use of a privately funded voucher system or precollege scholarship approach as feasible alternatives for educating low-income children. Alternatives include the need for tax relief,…

Despite the rosy image projected by child-centered reformers, zealots and profiteers are really driving the charter school movement. Charter schools cannot flourish without drastic wage reductions or huge spending increases, nor will they benefit America's poorest children. The market, which has already destroyed kids' neighborhoods and parents'…

Describes decentralization and privatization policies in El Salvador's education reform plan and assesses their potential success and limitations. The EDUCO program, in which nonprofit parents' associations in poor rural communities administer community schools, has expanded rural access to education. However, EDUCO also has potential to…

Analyzes the economic and social characteristics of impoverished long-term immigrants, their uniqueness compared to poor natives, and the factors associated with economic success or failure. The implications of welfare reform as it negatively impacts low-income immigrants is addressed. (GR)

Describes research aimed at informing and improving AIDS prevention efforts for urban African American youth and their families during the children's transition to adolescence. Also presents are a theoretical model and preliminary descriptive data focusing on the implications for preventive intervention work and the need for ongoing collaboration…

Contends that African Americans value schooling that helps them express who they are as defined by their culture and community rather than education that maintains white hegemonic control. This assertion finds support in the communal struggle to develop, erect, and sustain African American institutions, and in historical discourse concerning the…