Large socioeconomic and ethnic disparities exist in college admissions. This paper demonstrates that by systematically accounting for the effect of socioeconomic circumstance on pre-college achievement, colleges can substantially reduce these disparities. A conceptual model distinguishes students' realized achievement from their underlying ability…

Reflecting on her life as a teen growing up in the low-income neighborhoods of Washington, DC, Karen Pittman spells out why she is determined to have the Forum meet its goal of challenging national partners and state and local change makers to ensure that every young person is Ready by 2010. Pittman describes what she believes is the biggest…

This study analyses the impact of democratic decentralisation on the chances of socially excluded groups to participate in newly created local governance institutions--Panchayati Raj Institutions--in three Indian states. This institutional reform included a quota for the disadvantaged--women and lower castes--to ensure their effective…

Analyzing data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, this report examines how computer use produced generic benefits for all children and differential benefits for minority and poor children. Computer use at home was compared with computer use at school in relation to the academic performance of disadvantaged children and their peers. The…

This study discusses my attempt to improve educational experiences of fifth-grade students living in public housing. Through reconstruction of my thought processes while teaching and learning with students, the context of social justice-oriented teaching and classroom complexity is revealed. A narrative portrayal emerges demonstrating the impact…

The After-School Corporation (TASC) has completed its sixth year of operations, working with public and private partners across New York City and the state to develop and operate school-based after-school services for public school students in the elementary and secondary grades. Since its founding in 1998, TASC has emphasized twin goals of…

More than 70 percent of San Antonio (Texas) urban school children are Hispanic, and approximately 85 percent are from minority ethnic groups. This paper is the second in a series of reports from a 3-year study of private and public school-choice programs in San Antonio. The paper discusses the characteristics of private and public schools as…

This book provides basic data on educational attainment, achievement, and practices for each state and the United States as a whole, with a focus on the academic-achievement gap between minority and white students. The first part provides an overview of the national picture of education, describing academic achievement, expenditures and…

Alternative education programs for disruptive and at-risk students in Pennsylvania were studied to determine the characteristics that make such programs successful. This report presents the results of the analysis and lists model programs and other operating programs in Pennsylvania. Suspension and expulsion are stopgap solutions that relieve the…

This report is one of a series presenting findings from "Prospects: The Congressionally Mandated Study of Educational Growth and Opportunity." This study, conducted in response to the 1988 Hawkins-Stafford Amendments, was a major effort to examine the effects of Chapter 1 on student achievement and other school-related educational…

This book is a study of the impact that changes in living environments (i.e. from homelessness in a shelter to a family's own dwelling unit) have on the academic achievement of school-age children. The study samples seven cases of public school children in grades 5 through 8 during the years 1988 to 1991. The children lived in the same shelter and…

The School-Based Youth Services Program (SBYSP) of the Iowa Department of Education has just completed its seventh year of operation. This report focuses on the 1995-96 school year, which was the second year of the expanded SBYSP, which went from its original 4 sites to 18. These sites include rural and urban areas, and some of the poorest areas…

School staff can use information on risk factors to identify student needs and assess the ability of the school to address these needs. It is also important to identify protective factors that promote successful development or buffer risk factors that might otherwise compromise development. Three key factors that have been identified as fostering…

An urgent educational crisis threatens the futures of a growing number of Asian Pacific American students, both immigrant and American-born. This crisis is largely invisible to most Americans, even to many in the teaching profession, because many see all Asian Pacific American students as members of a model minority destined to excel. This image…

The Subcommittee on Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations of the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform and Oversight met to consider the causes of and solutions to teen pregnancy and the role of community organizations in prevention efforts. Opening remarks by Representative Christopher Shays were followed by statements…