The current study investigated the effects of school mobility on the academic achievement of different racial/ethnic groups in four cohorts of students from a very large urban school district. In this study, I compared within-year and between-year mobility and, most importantly, account for all the schools students attended over the study period.…

This article analyzes the narrative experiences of Hmong American adolescent males who were labeled "at risk" or "high risk" for academic failure or underperformance by their predominantly White school counselors and teachers. Additional data sources included classroom observations at two racially diverse public high schools…

Urban school districts are comprised of many diverse high school environments including comprehensive neighborhood schools as well as a variety of smaller alternative models that focus on innovative practices, behavior remediation, or academic recovery. In terms of enrollment distribution, urban school districts are increasingly offering…

Illinois education policymakers have adopted the completion agenda that emphasizes increasing postsecondary credential attainment. Meeting completion agenda goals necessitates addressing the achievement gap. To aid in developing policy to support improved completion, this study analyzes a comprehensive statewide dataset of the 2003 Illinois high…

This article proposes a new method for measuring school desegregation in multiracial districts, and uses the new method to measure the desegregation effects of magnet schools in Los Angeles. Rather than measuring desegregation between only two groups at a time, I compute the index of interracial exposure for Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and Asians.…

Described is a 4-year model of a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) offered to 294 academically and economically disadvantaged students and their parents during in- and out-of-school time activities through partnerships forged with school personnel and community-based agencies. In an urban high school where…

Explored how Hmong American high school students interpreted the meaning of being Hmong in the United States, examining how the culture of whiteness shaped their experiences and understandings of being American. The culture of whiteness led these students to internalize the message that whites were the only real Americans. They were very aware…

Parents face varying degrees of difficulty with getting involved in their children's schools. Using data from a study of parent members of a community organization and structuration theory, I examined how and why parents encountered resistance to their attempts to be more involved and to advocate for their children. This work can broaden our…

In this article, I examine how students, teachers and staff understood and addressed cultural difference at an urban, public high school in the United States. My research reveals that the school's multicultural practices contradictorily sustained and exacerbated problems and made teachers resistant to multicultural education. Simultaneously, my…

Depending on state statutory language, charter schools may be able to exercise more control over their student body composition. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools may have the opportunity to increase student body diversity by drawing students from across traditional school district boundary lines. Specifically, depending on the…

Conducted a meta-analysis of 21 studies to determine the impact of parental involvement on minority students' academic achievement. The impact of parental involvement was significant for all minority groups studied. Also for all groups, parental involvement affected all academic variables by at least two tenths of a standard deviation unit.…