A Collective Responsibility, A Collective Work: 
Supporting the Path to Positive Life Outcomes for Youth in Economically Distressed Communities
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Washington DC. (2008).
R. Tsoi-A-Fatt

“This paper presents a picture of risk and challenge for youth in distressed communities and outlines how these communities can band together to create a continuum of supportive activities to bolster youth’s success in school and life.  . . . Data from ten communities across the country are used to highlight the magnitude of the challenges faced by youth growing up in these cities.  Cities were selected based upon their graduation rates (less than 60 percent) and their rates of child poverty (greater than 30 percent). The 10 cities highlighted in this paper are: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Oakland, and Philadelphia.”
Full text – Scroll down:
http://www.clasp.org/publications.php?id=14&year=2008#0


A New Day For Learning:  A Report from the Time, Learning, and Afterschool Task Force

V. L. Ferrandino, Chair
Funded by the Charles Steward Mott Foundation, Flint, Michigan. (2007).
Distributed by Edutopia, George Lucas Foundation, San Rafael, California

The premise of the Task Force is that “we are not getting very far, very fast (in improving student outcomes) because we persist in placing all the responsibility for teaching on the schools and on a short school day.  . . . The Task Force acknowledges that there is no complete model of this new day for learning.  There are efforts across the country, however, that point the way toward restructuring and redesigning the education of children so that they have access to the best communities offer and can develop fully as learners and future citizens.  The Task Force’s review of research and emerging strategies has led to a concept of a new learning system that needs all the following elements: (a) redefinition of student success; (b) use of knowledge about how students learn best throughout the day, early to late — and year round; (c) integration of various approaches to acquiring and reinforcing knowledge; (d) intentional collaboration across local, State, and national sectors; and (e) new leadership and professional development opportunities.”
Full text with links to additional information on community collaboration, real-world learning, and learning around the clock:
http://www.edutopia.org/new-day-for-learning

A Plan for Success:  Communities of Color Define Policy Priorities
for High School Reform
Campaign for High School Equity: A National Coalition, Washington DC. (2007).

This is the Campaign for High School Equity’s inaugural publication.  It “makes a compelling case for the need to invest in high schools and provides a blueprint for meaningful reform.”  Its recommendations include a call to: (a) make all students proficient and prepared for college and work; (b) hold high schools accountable for student success; (c) redesign the American high school; (d) provide students with the excellent leaders and teachers they need to succeed; and (e) provide equitable learning conditions for all students.
Overview of the Campaign and coalition members:  http://www.highschoolequity.org/about
Full text of the Plan for Success:   http://www.highschoolequity.org/node/18


A Positive Future for Black Boys:  Building the Movement

The Schott Foundation for Public Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts. (2006).
R. Sen.

Based on extensive documentation by various groups convened by the Schott Foundation, this report “lays out a framework for how stakeholders can begin organizing themselves and their communities to become agents of change for their schools.  Guided by examples and worksheets, The Schott Foundation for Public Education encourages readers to use this publication to begin organizing efforts or strengthen existing efforts in their own schools, neighborhoods, and communities.”
Full text – Scroll down:  
http://www.schottfoundation.org/page.php?id=pub_speeches

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Portland, Oregon. (2003).
W. G. Demmert Jr. & J. C. Towner.

This report is to reviews “the research literature to determine whether there is a direct relationship between a culturally-based education curriculum and improved academic performance among Native American students.  There is a significant amount of qualitative research that sets the stage for testing ideas through quantitative methods that may isolate specific factors that validate theories regarding culturally-based education in searching for ways to improve academic performance among Native children.”
Full text:   http://www.nwrel.org/indianed/cbe/

Casey Family Programs, Seattle, Washington. (2004).

This “is a guide for everyone working towards successful educational outcomes for youth in foster care or out-of-home care.   The book provides a modular framework for achieving collaboration across the federal, state, and local legal, educational, and child welfare systems.   A Road Map for Learning shows how to integrate the predictors of academic success into an educational plan and encourages letting youth in out-of-home care be the primary voice in their own decision-making.”
Full text:  http://www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/RoadMapForLearning.htm

Academic Success Among Poor and Minority Students:  An Analysis of Competing Models of School Effects
Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At Risk (CRESPAR), The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. (2002).
G. D. Borman & L. T. Rachuba.

The School Administrator. (2005).
American Association of School Administrators, Arlington, Virginia.

This journal issue features: (a) Leveraging the After-School Value Added (new and creative learning opportunities and evidence of their success); (b) Evaluating After-School Programs (review of some studies on effectiveness); (c) Academics After-School Style (approaches of after-school programs to improving academic performance); (d) Finding the Right Hook (strategies for attracting and sustaining participation in after-school programs).
Full texts:
http://www.aasa.org/publications/saissuedetail.cfm?ItemNumber=2208&snItemNumber=950&tnItemNumber=1995

National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. (2006).
P. R. Carver & I. U. Iruka

“This report presents data on participation in after-school activities and programs in the United States.  The data are from the After-School Programs and Activities Survey (ASPA) of the 2005 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES:2005). The data presented in the report are based on a nationally representative sample of students in kindergarten through grade 8.”
Full text:   http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006076

Afterschool Toolkits:  Business-Community-School Connections
Corporate Voices for Working Families, Washington DC. (2005 and 2006).

The Business to Community Afterschool Toolkit is a resource to encourage proactive business engagement in afterschool programs and policies.  The Community to Business Afterschool Toolkit is designed to help local providers or statewide networks navigate the business world and form lasting partnerships that will benefit the business community, afterschool programs, parents, and youth who need these programs.  Also see related publications on this page.   Free registration.
Full texts – Click on two toolkits under Afterschool and Early Childhood Education   http://www.cvworkingfamilies.org/issues/publications.shtml


Afterschool Training Toolkit

National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning,
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, Austin, Texas

“This toolkit is designed to give afterschool program directors and instructors the resources they need to build fun, innovative, and academically enriching activities that not only engage students, but extend their knowledge in new ways and increase academic achievement. . . .  Each subject area is filled with standards-based multi-media resources including: research-based practices, sample lessons, interactive activities, and video segments taken from afterschool programs across the country.” The toolkit covers (a) arts; (b) literacy; (c) math; (d) science; (e) technology; and (f) homework help.
Toolkit:   http://www.sedl.org/afterschool/toolkits/index.html
Also see Curriculum Databases:
http://www.sedl.org/afterschool/resources/curriculum.html

Beat the Odds -- Why Some Schools With Latino Children Beat the Odds and Others Don’t
C William Morris Institute, School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University, Tempe,
and the Center for the Future of Arizona, Phoenix. (2006).
M. J. Waits, H. E. Campbell, R.Gau, E. Jacobs, T. Rex, & R.K. Hess.

The research team for this study “found 12 elementary and middle schools in Arizona -- schools whose students are mostly Latino and mostly poor -- that are ‘beating the odds’ on reading and math scores. . . . The research team found six keys to success that can translate into broader messages for education policy and strategy.  These are (a) clear bottom line; (b) ongoing assessment; (c) strong, steady principal; (d) collaborative solutions; (e) stick with the program; and (f) built to suit.  Describing this study as the ‘second wave’ of education reform, the authors have recommended a package of policy changes and strategic initiatives aimed at engaging policy makers and empowering educators with the tools and skills necessary to help students succeed.”
Full text:  http://www.arizonafuture.org/latinoEd/index.html

Between You and Me: Facilitating Cross-Race Dialogue About the Achievement Gap in Schools
Institute for the Advancement of Research in Education,
Appalachian Educational Laboratory (Now Edvantia). (2004).  
M. C. Keyes & P. S. Kusimo.

Learning Point Associates, Washington DC. (Undated).

“Beyond the Bell is a suite of products designed by Learning Point Associates to help afterschool directors, coordinators, and staff create and sustain high-quality, effective afterschool programs.  The suite provides resources and training for afterschool staff that are practical, easy-to-use, and grounded in research and experience. Beyond the Bell is one component of the Learning Point Associates resources for afterschool programs.”  The package includes (a) Beyond the Bell Toolkit; (b) Beyond the Bell Staff workbook; (c) and a subscription to the Beyond the Bell website.
For purchase:    http://www.beyondthebell.org/

In Motion Magazine, NPC Productions, New York City. (2000).  P. A. Noguera.

This paper begins by reviewing California’s Proposition 2009 “which officially brought an end to the use of race and gender as a factor in contracting, hiring, and college admissions in publicly supported institutions” and its impact on minority enrollments.  The author believes that “to begin to ascertain the consequences of this change in law we must have an understanding of conditions in California's K-12 educational system which prepares students for higher education.”   Then the major thrust of this extensive paper is to describe the Diversity Project at Berkeley High School, Berkeley Unified School District, California.  Unfinished Business: Closing the Racial Achievement Gap in Our Schools is Noguera’s book (edited with J. Y. Wing) on the dynamics of race and achievement at Berkeley High School.
Full text:   http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/pnpd1.html
Also see the full text of a chapter from Unfinished Business:  Closing the Achievement Gap at Berkeley High School (2006):
http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/er/pn_jy_ub.html
To purchase the book:  
http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787972754.html

Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey. (2005).
B. Bridgeman & C. Wendler.

The authors’ premise is that “the familiar term ‘achievement gap’ describes racial/ ethnic differences that exist in many academic areas, including average SAT scores.  But if we focus only on the average gap, we may overlook the fact that many minority students defy stereotypes and receive high SAT scores, succeed in rigorous high school courses, and excel in college.  In this report, (they) attempt to better understand the characteristics and ambitions of these academic superstars from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds by examining characteristics of these students in terms of high school courses taken, participation in school activities, leadership experiences,  academic success, and parental education.”
Full text:  
http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.c988ba0e5dd572bada20bc47c3921509/
?vgnextoid=4930af5e44df4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=
5c75be3a864f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD

Closing the Education Achievement Gap: Research Summary
(Online Video Presentation)
MDRC, New York City. (2003).  J. Snipes.

“Presenting insights from an exploratory investigation of successful districtwide school reforms, this seven-minute video outlines how public school systems in four big cities reduced ethnic and racial disparities in academic achievement while raising student performance overall.”  The speaker reviews MDRC’s research on education in urban school districts and describes promising practices.:
Online video – Scroll to the next to last item on the page:
http://www.mdrc.org/video_archive.html


Closing the Gap: How Northwest Schools Are Raising Minority Achievement
Northwest Education Magazine. (2002). Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Portland, Oregon.

Education Policy Analysis Archives. (2004).  Arizona State University and University of South Florida.
H. Wenglinsky

This study “applies the technique of hierarchical linear modeling to a nationally representative sample of 13,000 fourth graders who took the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress in mathematics to identify instructional practices that reduce the achievement gap.  It finds that, even when taking student background into account, various instructional practices can make a substantial difference.”
Full text:    http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n64/

Cooperative Learning, Values, and Culturally Plural Classrooms
The Cooperative Learning Center at the University of Minnesota. (Undated).
D. W. Johnson & R. T. Johnson.

Demilitarizing What the Pentagon Knows About Developing Young People:
A New Paradigm for Educating Students Who Are Struggling in School and in Life
The Brookings Institution, Washington DC. (2007).  H. B. Price.

“This working paper examines the approaches, wisdom, and experience generated by the National Guard ChalleNGe program as well as the vast storehouse of knowledge and research, models and systems possessed by the military services that are potentially applicable to educating and developing youngsters who are at greatest risk of academic failure, economic marginality, and outright poverty. . . . The United States military enjoys a well-deserved reputation for its ability to reach, teach, and develop young people who are rudderless, and for setting the pace among American institutions in advancing minorities.  Young people receive military-style education and training in an array of settings, most typically in a branch of the military.  Various branches also partner with public schools to operate programs that emulate the military atmosphere and methods. 

These military and quasi-military programs exhibit many attributes that appear to contribute to the young people's success and therefore might be appropriate to incorporate in a new approach to educating youngsters who are performing way below par, disengaged from school, or dropping out.”
Executive summary and click for full text:
http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/price200705.htm


Disconnected Youth: Federal Action Could Address Some Challenges Faced by Local Programs That Reconnect Youth to Education and Employment
Report to the Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives.
United States Government Accountability Office (GAO). (2008). 

“Several federal agencies oversee a number of programs and grants that assist local programs in serving this population at the local level. GAO reviewed: (a) the characteristics of locally operated programs that serve disconnected youth, (b) the key elements of locally operated programs to which directors attribute their success in reconnecting youth to education and employment, and (c) challenges involved in operating these programs and how federal agencies are helping to address these challenges.  GAO interviewed officials from four federal agencies, experts, and directors of 39 local programs identified by agencies and experts as helping youth meet educational and employment goals. . . . GAO recommends that the Department of Labor work with States and workforce investment boards to better ensure they have the information and guidance needed to develop and implement contracts that allow local programs to serve youth who are in need of more assistance than others while still achieving performance goals.  Labor agreed with these recommendation and identified several steps it plans to take to implement it.”
Highlights and full text:
http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-08-313


Diversity:  School, Family, and Community Connections

National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools. (2003)
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL), Austin, Texas.
M. Boethel

“This synthesis addresses diversity as it relates to student achievement and school, family, and community connections. . . . (It) focuses specifically on three categories:  (a) race or ethnicity, (b) culture (including language), and (c) socioeconomic status. This research synthesis looks at the roles families can and do play in addressing that issue.  The report also explores barriers to involvement for minority  and low-income families, strategies that have been used to address those barriers, and recommendations that local educational leaders can adapt to address their specific needs.”
Full text – Scroll to the second title:
http://www.sedl.org/connections/research-syntheses.html

Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, California. (2005).  O. Fashola (Ed.).

“Contributions in this book represent the proceedings from a conference co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and Howard University and devoted to African American male achievement.  (This book) brings this important discussion to the field and offers unique perspectives covering sociological, emotional, economic, pedagogical, and cognitive realms.”
For purchase: http://www.corwinpress.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book227390
Book review in Education Review:
http://edrev.asu.edu/reviews/rev541.htm

Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL),
Aurora, Colorado. (2003). H. S. Apthorp, E. D. D’Amato, & A. Richardson.

“To better understand the qualities of education programs and supports necessary for Native American students to reach standards, researchers and technical assistance providers at McREL have reviewed research and are conducting field studies. . . . The purpose is to establish access to Native American research by recognizing the educational innovations developed by Native American people, their purposes and outcomes, and lessons learned.”  Although the authors found “few reports on students’ academic achievement when the curricula were implemented, (they) did find case study and evaluation reports that included academic achievement results in association with multi-year, multi-component program innovations.  These innovations were implemented and evaluated in schools serving Native American students (in Alaskan, Hawaiian, and Navajo communities).. . . . Positive relationships between improved student achievement and certain program characteristics and classroom practices were found, including: (a) teaching indigenous language and literacy first, followed by instruction in learning to read and write in English and promotion of bilingualism; (b) emphasizing reading comprehension and peer interactions and frequent monitoring of student progress; and (c) using culturally congruent curriculum materials and instruction in mathematics.”
Full text: http://www.mcrel.org/topics/productDetail.asp?topicsID=14&productID=15

Equity in Education in Finland: Country Note
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2006).  Paris, France.
N. Grubb, H. M. Jahr, J. Neumuller, & S. Field

Every Child, Every Promise:  Turning Failure Into Action
America’s Promise: The Alliance for Youth, Alexandria, Virginia. (2006).

America’s Promise has established Five Promises for America’s Youth: (a) caring adults; (b) safe places and constructive use of time; (c) a healthy start and healthy development; (d) effective education for marketable skills and lifelong learning; and (e) opportunities to make a difference through helping others.  “Every Child, Every Promise is the first comprehensive study of how well children are receiving the Five Promises -- the key developmental resources that correlate with success. . . . Only 31% of school-age children are receiving enough Promises to be confident of success. . . . This report also shows how we can turn failure into action and change the lives of young people now at risk.”
Full text:   http://www.americaspromise.org/APAMini.aspx?id=5906

Faith in Learning: Supporting Faith-Based Efforts to Improve the Academic Achievement of African American and Low-Income Youth
Edvantia, Charleston, West Virginia. (2004).  M. Keyes

Fragile Futures: Risk and Vulnerability Among Latino High-Achievers
Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey. (2005).  P. Gándara.

“Using two national databases, Patricia GaÌ�ndara presents a portrait of high-achieving Latino students  and shows us how their profile differs from their high-achieving peers who are members of other racial/ethnic groups.  (The author) also reviews what we know about existing intervention programs that are designed to support these high-achieving students.  She examines  several policy options that are available to increase the academic achievement and educational attainment of Latino high achievers from low-income backgrounds.  To help convey the complicated lives of these students, Dr. GaÌ�ndara describes the experiences of  four high-achieving Latino students who participated  in a longitudinal study.”
Full text:
http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.c988ba0e5dd572bada20bc47c3921509/?vgnextoid=
3307158e769d8010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=4d84be3a864f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD

Fragmented: Improving Education for Mobile Students
Poverty and Race Research Action Council. (2004).  L. Williams.

Policy Studies Associates Inc, Washington DC.  (2000).
L. Weinter, M. Leighton, & J. Funkhouser
Distributed by the U.S. Department of Education

“Written for administrators, curriculum coordinators, school principals, teachers, and other educators, the Idea Book describes promising practices from schools and other community settings that teach large numbers of Hispanic students. Also, it illustrates how Title I, Title VII, and other programs work both individually and in combination to help Hispanic students and Spanish-speaking English language learners achieve the same high standards the nation has come to expect of all students.”
Full text – Click on the Table of Contents at the bottom of the page:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/PES/Hispanic/title.html

Improving Academic Performance Among American Indian, Alaska Native,
And Native Hawai’ian Students: Assessment of Learning and Identification of Learning and Learning Disabilities  (Workshop Summary).
National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, NIH,
National Institute for Literacy, and Office of Indian Education Programs. (2005).

In March 2005, “several federal agencies, professional organizations, and associations joined forces to hold a national colloquium to address the educational needs of Native American students. . . . This document represents a summary of the presentations and discussions of that gathering.”  Topics include (a) who and where are the children?; (b) culture, language, and literacy; (c) what do we know and need to know?; (d) substance abuse among native youth; (e) neuro-imaging in the study of reading, native language, and education; (f) cultural pedagogy and educational policy; (g) biology, environment, and culture; (h) innovative programs; (i) comprehensive summary of culture-based education programs; (j) issues and challenges; (k) solutions; and (l) a blueprint for research on Native American students’ educational issues.
Full text:  
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs_details.cfm?from=&pubs_id=5651

New Horizons for Learning, Seattle Washington. (2003)
L. Campbell, K. Egawa, & G. Wortman

This article describes how three secondary schools initiated programs in 2003 that “forego the all-too-common remediation options for American Indian students. . . . These three sites are part of the Early College High School Initiative sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.  Together, the four foundations have funded partners  to establish Early College sites across the nation for underserved youth.”
Full Text:
http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/multicultural/campbell_egawa_wortman.htm

In-School and Out-of-School Factors That Build Student Achievement: Research-Based Implications for School Instructional Policy
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, Naperville, Illinois. (2002).  R. Clark

District Administration Magazine. (2005).  J. Sturgeon.
Professional Media Group LLC, Norwalk, Connecticut

This article reviews data on under-achievement of Black male students, and then describes programs that help to reverse it.  These include Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID); restructuring at Louisa May Alcott Elementary School in Cleveland; The M2EN program at North Lawndale College Prep Charter High School in Chicago; and mentoring at the Eagle Academy for Young Men in New York City.
Full Text:
http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=1312

Meeting the Needs of Significantly Struggling Learners in High School:
A Look at Approaches to Tiered Intervention
National High School Center, American Institutes for Research,
Washington DC. (2007).  H. Duffy

“This brief first defines the Response to Intervention (RTI) model, drawing from various examples established in K–8 settings.  The brief then explores implications of applying RTI to the high school level and provides resources appropriate for this application.   In particular, this brief points to the promise that RTI constructs hold for monitoring instruction and learning for all students at the high school level and specifically for monitoring the success of targeted interventions focused on transitions and dropout prevention.”
Full text – Scroll down (and see related papers):   http://www.betterhighschools.org/pubs/


Mentoring for Meaningful Results: Asset-Building Tips, Tools, and Activities for Youth and Adults

Search Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  (2006).

This book “is a mentoring program leader’s complete “start-up kit” that provides mentors, mentees and parents or caregivers everything they to need to establish and maintain a successful mentoring relationship. Using practical tips and activities along with the Developmental Assets framework, Mentoring for Meaningful Results will enhance both mentoring programs in schools, organizations, and communities across the country, and the lives of the children and youth they serve.”
For purchase:  http://www.searchinstitutestore.org/product.php?productid=16424

Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
WCER Working Paper (2005).   D. W. Shaffer.

“Multiculturalism is an essential tool for democratic citizenship in a world made ever more closely interconnected by information technologies. (This paper proposes) a model for progressive multicultural education in the computer age. (The author begins) by describing the Pragmatic Progressive model of learning implicit in Dewey’s writing on education.  (He) then discuss two revisions to the model in light of technological developments and theoretical work over the last few decades.  Taken together, these revisions suggest that we might profitably revisit -- and revise -- Dewey’s ideas in the postindustrial era.  (The author brings) these ideas together to describe a theory of pedagogical praxis that offers an opportunity to move from multiculturalism to multisubculturalism -- a view of education that focuses on diverse educational goals rather than diverse pathways to a single pedagogical end -- and thus a view of learning better suited to the diverse ways of thinking and living that characterize our increasingly integrated world.
Abstract and click for full text: 
http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/publications/workingPapers/Working_Paper_No_2005_5.php

New on the Shelf:  Teens in the Library – Findings from the Evaluation of Public Libraries as Partners in
Youth Development
Chapin Hall Center for Children, University of Chicago. (2005).
J. Speilberger, C. Horton, L. Michels, & R. Halpern.

“This study reports on findings from the Public Libraries as Partners in Youth Development (PLPYD) Initiative, a 4-year, 9-site initiative funded by the Wallace Foundation to develop innovative models for public libraries to provide high-quality educational enrichment and career development programs serving underserved low-income children and youth. The evaluation reveals that public libraries can be a resource for youth in low-income communities. In addition to providing access to technology and a ‘safe’ place to be during out-of-school hours, evaluation results indicate libraries can provide high-quality youth employment programs that include training in both specific job skills and more general personal and social skills. These programs also can have positive impacts on the library system and the community.” The report describes implementation of the project, its impact, and its implications.
Full text and summary of key findings:
http://www.chapinhall.org/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1380&L2=62&L3=105


Overcoming Underachievement: How a Simple Writing Exercise Dismantled Negative Racial Preconceptions

Summary of a Study Published in Science in 2006.
Summary in Edutopia, The George Lucas Educational Foundation.
San Rafael, California.  (2007).  G. Rubenstein

“Several years ago, using a diverse northeastern middle school as their laboratory, researchers from Yale University set out to test a simple solution to an excruciatingly complex problem -- the racial achievement gap.  Believing that the disparity in academic performance between white and African American students is partly fueled by a psychological effect called stereotype threat, they proposed to narrow the gap using a simple fifteen-minute writing exercise. . . . For the experiment, the researchers asked teachers to assign a short, in-class essay early in the fall term.  Half of the kids, chosen at random, were asked to choose from a list of attributes ones they value, such as relationships with friends or being good at art, and write about them.  The other half received instructions to select things on the list that matter least to them and write about why they might be important to someone else. . . .  When the results came in, they were proof that the researchers' goal to improve performance on a single assignment was too modest; the effects of the writing exercise reached far beyond that.  In the class in which the exercise was given, African American students who wrote the affirming essay earned final term grades that were (on a four-point scale where A equals 4 and F equals 0) an average of 0.26 points higher than those of their classmates of the same race.  The results were so startling that the psychologists tried the experiment again the next year with a different group of students.  The effect was even more powerful; this time, the affirming essay boosted African American students' final grades by an average of 0.34 points. Across all classes, the rise in the affirmed students' overall grade point averages was nearly as large.  According to the researchers' calculations, the likelihood of two such outcomes happening due to chance, with no influence from the essay, is just 1 in 5,000.  The exercise benefited low- or moderate-performing African American students the most, while it had no effect on the grades of white students.  Combining results from both years, the essay narrowed the achievement gap between African American and white students in that class by 40 percent.”
Summary of the study:
http://www.edutopia.org/overcoming-underachievement

The Children’s Partnership, Washington DC and Santa Monica, California. (2002).  J. Lau & W. Lazarus.

“This report summarizes how a pilot program demonstrating how to successfully train low-income youth with marketable skills in technology and multimedia production works, and its accomplishments.  It also features recommendations for how public and private sector leaders can extend the program’s benefits.”

Portrait of the Black Male: The 2007 State of America Report
National Urban League, New York City. (2007).   S. J. Jones (Ed.). 

“According to the 2007 National Urban League Equality Index, although many black men are doing well, glaring gaps continue to exist between black men and their white counterparts. These gaps are caused and aggravated, in large measure, by the underperformance of a disproportionate number of black men in a variety of areas and for a variety of reasons. . . . The 2007 State of Black America report takes up this challenge with a fresh and in-depth look at the current conditions affecting the black male.   Based on this research and analysis by some of America's best minds, the National Urban League presents several targeted and comprehensive recommendations designed to eliminate the equality gaps and empower all black Americans, male and female.”
Full text -- Scroll to March 2007:
http://www.nul.org/thestateofblackamerica.html


Positive Youth Development So Far: Core Hypotheses and Their Implications for Policy and Practice

Insights and Evidence. (2006).  The Search Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
P. L. Benson, P. C. Scales, S. F. Hamilton, & A. Sesma Jr, with K. L. Hong & E. C. Roehlkepartain

“As positive youth development moves from being primarily a field of practice toward having increased credibility in academic research institutions, how much agreement is there in how it is understood and defined?  Although there are many definitions and frameworks of positive youth development in the field, there is also a great deal of common ground growing out of current theory and research.”  This article reviews these topics.
Full text – Scroll down:   http://www.search-institute.org/research/Insights/

Digital Steppingstones Project: Final Report
Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. (2002).
E. Macias, R. Cutler, S. Jones, & M. Barreto

This study had two primary objectives.  “First, because overcrowded and under-funded institutions are a common feature of low-income communities, the programs highlighted in this report have overcome considerable obstacles in providing equitable access to technology.  This report identifies the specific strategies that these programs are using to increase access to information technologies in underserved communities.  Second, identification and description of these strategies allows policy makers, community leaders, educators, librarians, parents, and others to replicate effective technology programs in their own communities.”  Featured programs include schools, libraries, family organizations, business partnerships, and community initiatives.
Full text – Scroll to Product 5014:
http://www.trpi.org/update/informationtechnology.html

Race, Poverty, and Community Schools
Poverty and Race. (2002).  Poverty and Race Research Action Council, Washington DC.
I. Harkav & M. J. Blank.

E-Journal of Teaching and Learning in Diverse Settings. (2004). 
Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
A. Green, J. A. Conley, K. Barnett, & E. Benjamin

“To learn more about how an urban school counseling model can promote academic achievement and development among African American students, a federally funded elementary school counseling project was implemented in historically under-performing urban elementary schools that serve predominately African American  students.  This implementation project grew out of a partnership between a large, urban school district’s school counseling office and the graduate department of a counselor education program located at a local university. . . . This article has three foci.  First, the authors discuss how the academic achievement gap is as much of a by-product of poor schools and student performance, as it is a by-product of the  social-ecological context in which schools are placed.  Second, they  present highlights of a program evaluation of a school counseling  program intended to promote academic achievement in an urban context.  Third, they discuss the lessons learned from this program implementation and make specific recommendations for decreasing academic disparities in  the future.”
Full text: 
http://www.subr.edu/coeducation/ejournal/Green%20et%20al.%20Article.htm

WestEd, San Francisco, California. (2006).  R. Rothstein

“Without complementary investments in early childhood education, health care, housing, after-school and summer programs, and other social and economic supports, the academic achievement gap between lower- and middle-class children will never be closed.  In this new Policy Perspectives paper, (the author) outlines a series of reforms, in addition to school improvement, that could help narrow the achievement gap.  As Rothstein writes: ‘ If as a society we choose to preserve big social class differences, we must necessarily also accept substantial gaps between the achievement of lower-class and middle-class children.  Closing those gaps requires not only better schools, although those are certainly needed, but also reform in the social and economic institutions that prepare children to learn in different ways.  It will not be cheap.’”
Full text:    http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/819

Resilient Children:  Literature Review and Evidence from the HOPE VI Panel Study--Final Report
Urban Institute, Washington DC. (2005).  E. Cove, M. Eiseman, S. J. Popkin

Teachers College Press, New York City. (2004).
M. A. Gibson, P. Gandara, & J. P. Koyama (Eds.).  Foreword by J. Oakes.

“This collection examines the ongoing social dynamic between peer relations and academic achievement, bringing together the latest thinking from prominent scholars in anthropology, psychology, sociology, and education.  These expert contributors: (a) address two key questions overlooked in the literature on Mexican-descent youth (In what ways do peers and peer relationships influence the school performance of Mexican-origin high school youth? In what ways do schools participate in structuring these peer relationships?); (b) provide a theoretical discussion of the concept of ‘peer social capital’ and the ways in which relationships among students can help to promote school achievement; (c) present six new studies that analyze the diverse types of peer interactions and influences in various school settings between Mexican-descent youth and their non-Mexican peers, as well as among Mexican-descent youth themselves; and (d) link prior analyses with recommendations for policy and practice, indicating where findings may be applied to the critical issue of raising the school achievement of a significantly underachieving portion of the American youth population. "
For purchase:   http://store.tcpress.com/0807744379.shtml

Small Classes in the Early Grades, Academic Achievement, and Graduating From High School
Journal of Educational Psychology. (2005).  J. D. Finn & S. B. Gerber.
American Psychological Association, Washington DC.

Policy Studies Associates Inc, Washington DC. (2003).  N. Winter.

“While this document reviews what research there is that speaks directly to the outcomes fostered by increased civic engagement, it goes beyond this base to lay out an argument about how we should think about civic engagement in the broader context of fostering positive youth development.  Based on this review of the literature, (the authors) argue that civic engagement is an extremely important and promising path to improving youth outcomes.   (They) develop this argument by situating youth civic engagement in terms of several bodies of literature, including those on social capital, civic engagement, and finally youth development.”
Full text:  http://www.policystudies.com/studies/community/social%20capital.html

MDRC, New York City. (2006).  T. M. Akey.

“What are the key factors that promote academic success among students whose demographic characteristics and school circumstances place them at high risk of failure? This paper provides highly suggestive, although not conclusive, answers to this question.  Through path analysis modeling techniques applied to data collected in MDRC’s evaluation of the First Things First school reform initiative in a large urban school district, the paper explores the influence of two psychological variables — student engagement and perceived academic competence — on achievement in reading and mathematics.”
Summary and link to full text:
http://www.mdrc.org/publications/419/overview.html
First Things First is described in the Results for Kids: Resources library – with links to evidence.   Scroll down at:
http://www.ideapartnership.org/report.cfm?reportid=116

Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk. (2004).  Johns Hopkins University. J. Kim
Distributed by the National Institute for Literacy, Washington DC.

“The purpose of this study was to explore whether reading books during summer vacation improved fall reading proficiency, and whether access to books increased the volume of summer reading.  The results from the multivariate regression analyses suggest that the effect of reading 4 to 5 books on fall reading scores is potentially large enough to prevent a decline in reading achievement scores from the spring to the fall.  Furthermore, children who reported easy access to books also read more books.  The findings have implications for designing school-based summer reading programs
Abstract:
http://www.nifl.gov/cgi-bin/nifl/achieve.cgi?submit_action=details&rec_ID=32

Supporting Learning and Behavior of At-Risk Young Children: Computers in Urban Education
Journal of Research on Technology in Education. (2003).
J. M. Laffey, L. Espinosa, J. Moore, & A. Lodree.
Distributed by the National Institute for Early Education Research

The Educational Researcher. (2003).  American Educational Research Association.
D. A. Grunewald.

The author analyzes and synthesizes “elements of two distinct literatures, critical pedagogy and place-based education, and argue that their convergence into a critical pedagogy of place offers a much needed framework for educational theory, research, policy, and practice.  Place-based pedagogies are needed so that the education of citizens might have some direct bearing on the well being of the social and ecological places people actually inhabit. Critical pedagogies are needed to challenge the assumptions, practices, and outcomes taken for granted in dominant culture and in conventional education, as well as other approaches that are concerned with context and the value of learning from and nurturing specific places, communities, or regions. “
Full text – Under Features:  http://www.aera.net/publications/?id=396

The Boys of Baraka:  An Award-Winning Documentary Film
Loki Films, New York City. (2005).  H. Ewing & R. Grady (Directors).

As described by PBS, this film “tells the story of a group of middle school boys from inner city Baltimore who are selected to attend a boarding school in rural Kenya, East Africa.  As part of an educational experiment sponsored by the Baltimore City Public School System and a local educational foundation, a group of 20 frequently disruptive middle school boys were given the opportunity to attend 7th and 8th grades at the Baraka School.  The film documents their experiences in Baltimore and at Baraka.  Viewers hear directly from the boys and their families about how the experience inspires their hopes and dreams.”  A review by the Education Sector points out that “the film explodes some pervasive myths about black boys' academic underachievement, such as the idea that they don't perform well in school because they and their families don't value education.  Throughout the film, in group scenes and in one-on-one shots, the boys demonstrate the depth of their understanding of the significance of education as a means to a better life.”
DVD for purchase:   http://lokifilms.com/site/barakanews.html
Background, lesson plan, and other information from PBS:
http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/boysofbaraka/
Film review from the Education Sector:
http://www.educationsector.org/analysis/analysis_show.htm?doc_id=401844

The No Child Left Behind Act;  The Civil Rights Perspective
Roundtables Sponsored by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University and Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute, University of California, Berkeley.  (2006).
Distributed by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles

The sponsors “commissioned a series of new research from prominent scholars to review evidence concerning the effects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) accountability on schools, identify critical gaps in the current research base on NCLB, and propose recommendations for reforming NCLB.  This research examines the effects of NCLB for low-income and minority students and their schools from a civil rights perspective.  To present this research, the Civil Rights Project and the Warren Institute convened a series of roundtables. . . . The first set of papers evaluated what is known about the law’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) provisions and developed recommendations for reforming these accountability provisions. The second set of papers focused on the challenges States face in meeting the law’s ambitious educational goals and how outcome-based accountability systems have worked in States where they were tried prior to NCLB.  The final set of papers examined elements of successful high school reforms, exploring how NCLB requirements affect those conditions and how to change the law in ways that support effective high school reform.”  Eleven papers presented at the roundtables are available.
Full texts of eleven papers: 
http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/esea/nclb_roundtable/


The Seventh Generation: Native Students Speak About Finding the Good Path

Edvantia, Charleston, West Virginia. (2003)
A. Bergstrom, L. M. Cleary, & T. D. Peacock

“This book is based on interviews with 120 Native youth from across North America. Written especially for today's Native middle and high school students, the authors share students' stories of life's challenges and their struggles to find and stay on the Good Path. They focus especially on how students developed strong Native identities; coped with troubles in their families, communities, and schools; reached their breaking points or responded resiliently to high-pressure situations; learned to appreciate their own intellectual gifts and abilities; and met the academic and social challenges they encountered in school. . . . The final chapter, written for teachers and youth workers, provides information about how to help Native youth develop resilience.”
For purchase and to view the Table of Contents and Chapter 1:
http://www.edvantia.org/publications/index1.cfm?&section=publications&area=
publications&id=628

Transforming Urban Schools Through Investments in the Social Capital of Parents
In Motion Magazine, NPC Productions, New York City. (2004).  P. A. Noguera.

“This paper “explores some of the ways in which parental involvement at local school sites can generate social capital that can be used to improve inner-city schools and the communities they serve.  The form of involvement examined goes beyond traditional calls for parents to be more interested in the education of their children and more supportive of teachers . . . . The case is made for schools to become more responsive and supportive to the children, families and communities they serve by consciously developing partnerships based upon mutual accountability and responsibility.”
Full text:  http://www.edvantia.org/products/index.cfm?&t=products&c=products&id=628

Wiener Center for Social Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. (2002). 
R. F. Ferguson.
Distributed by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

This paper concerns racial and ethnic achievement disparities in places where  schools are reputedly excellent.  The author describes the Minority Student Achievement Network, a group of middle and upper income districts that have mutually resolved to narrow achievement gaps.   “Among their first joint initiatives was an effort to understand better what students of different racial and ethnic groups were experiencing in school that might affect their engagement and achievement.  During the 2000-01 school year, 95 schools across all 15 districts surveyed middle and high school students using a survey titled the Ed-Excel Assessment of Secondary School Student Culture.” . . . This paper describes some of the findings “from the responses of students in Grades 7-11 and discusses some implications.  For these grades, the sample included 7,120 blacks, 17,562 whites, 2,491 Hispanics, 2,448 Asians, and 4,507 mixed-race students.  The analysis and associated tables in the paper pertain to this full sample of 7th to 11th graders”
Full text:   http://www.ncrel.org/gap/ferg/
The Minority Student Achievement Network is described elsewhere in the SERRC collection – Scroll down at:  http://www.rrfcnetwork.org/content/view/286/47/

Also see:
Many Voices:  Citations from Web-Based Journals
and Other Periodicals


Achievement Gaps
http://www.ideapartnership.org/report.cfm?reportid=72


The entire Many Voices collection may be accessed at:
http://www.ideapartnership.org/journals.cfm


Return to main menu: Achievement Gaps, Diversity, and  Disproportionality
http://www.rrfcnetwork.org/content/view/195/47/