Extracurricular participation and academic achievement in minority students in urban schools

1996 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Charlton Lisella ◽  
Thomas S. Serwatka
2010 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 1038-1063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Muller ◽  
Catherine Riegle-Crumb ◽  
Kathryn S. Schiller ◽  
Lindsey Wilkinson ◽  
Kenneth A. Frank

Background/Context Brown v Board of Education fundamentally changed our nation's schools, yet we know surprisingly little about how and whether they provide equality of educational opportunity. Although substantial evidence suggests that African American and Latino students who attend these schools face fewer learning opportunities than their White counterparts, until now, it has been impossible to examine this using a representative sample because of lack of data. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study uses newly available data to investigate whether racially diverse high schools offer equality of educational opportunity to students from different racial and ethnic groups. This is examined by measuring the relative representation of minority students in advanced math classes at the beginning of high school and estimating whether and how this opportunity structure limits the level of achievement attained by African American and Latino students by the end of high school. Setting This study uses data from the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Study (AHAA) and its partner study, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a stratified, nationally representative study of students in U.S. high schools first surveyed in 1994–1995. Population/Participants/Subjects Two samples of racially diverse high schools were used in the analysis: one with African Americans, Whites, and Asians (26 schools with 3,149 students), and the other with Latinos, Whites, and Asians (22 schools with 2,775 students). Research Design Quantitative analyses first assess how high schools vary in the extent to which minority students are underrepresented in advanced sophomore math classes. Hierarchical multilevel modeling is then used to estimate whether racial-ethnic differences in representation in advanced math have an impact on African American and Latino students’ achievement by the end of high school, relative to the Whites and Asians in the school. Specifically, we estimate the effects of Whites’ and Asians’ overrepresentation in sophomore-year math (or Latino or African American underrepresentation) within the school on students’ senior-year grades and their postsecondary enrollment. Findings/Results Findings show that schools vary in the extent to which African American and Latino students are underrepresented in advanced sophomore math classes. This pattern of racial inequality in schools is associated with lower minority senior-year grades and enrollment in 4-year postsecondary institutions, net of students’ own background. Conclusions/Recommendations Evidence consistently suggests that schools can play an active role in the provision of opportunities for social mobility or in the exacerbation of social inequality, depending on how they are structured. It is important to consider racial stratification within schools as a mechanism of inequality of educational opportunity.


2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 2156759X0701100
Author(s):  
Rebecca A. Newgent ◽  
Sang Min Lee ◽  
Ashley F. Daniel

The authors examined the relationships between interracial best friendships and 10th-grade students’ academic achievement. The analysis consisted of data from 13, 134 participants in the ELS:2002 database. The results indicated that interracial best friendships for minority students (African Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and American Indians) generally have a positive relationship with students’ academic achievement. Discussion and implications of the results are presented.


2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-233
Author(s):  
Anya Niazov

Despite ongoing reform efforts, academic achievement in the U.S. educational system is declining both on internal measures as well as on international comparative assessments. While students from affluent backgrounds continue to do well academically, there is a growing achievement gap as underprivileged urban students fall further behind. This report builds on the work of scholars including Schultz, Tough, and Darling-Hammond and describes these challenges for our education system, and then demonstrates how some successful urban schools have been able to achieve progress despite great hurdles. Furthermore, this work looks abroad to examine how other countries are able to attain a higher level of achievement and do so equitably. The essay concludes by arguing that by looking to these examples, effective reforms can be designed to increase academic achievement and also promote equity.


2014 ◽  
pp. 27-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Ben-David ◽  
Yaakov Iram

Israeli higher education has exhibited a high level of academic achievement. However, access to higher education is at the middle level compared with the OECDs and has presented a middle rate of improvement. Stratification is still evident, especially, for minority students and for students from low socio-economic strata. Equity issues for previous schooling levels nurture stratification in higher education. We argue that there is a need for a holistic equitable school policy reform.


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