Nationwide African American students are overrepresented in special education programs and underrepresented in accelerated programs. The purpose of this program evaluation was to determine if African American students were equitably represented in elementary accelerated programs in one of California's largest school districts. The primary focus…

METRICS was a 5-year grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Education designed to immerse elementary school students in computer science. METRICS components included 1) creation and implementation of rigorous computer science curriculum units and assessments to support STEM coursework connected across all subjects through problem-based…

Gender balance in computing education is a decades-old issue that has been the focus of much previous research. In K-12, the introduction of mandatory computing education goes some way to giving all learners the opportunity to engage with computing throughout school, but a gender imbalance still persists when computer science becomes an elective…

Exclusionary school discipline practices and policies have contributed to the racial disparities in discipline for certain demographic of students, particularly Black students. As a result, many schools have adopted the school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) framework to identify and address disproportionality, despite…

We assessed the effects of a whole-school equity intervention implemented within a school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) framework on racial inequities in school discipline in eight elementary schools with inequitable referrals for Black students. The intervention involved assessing patterns of racial disparities in…

We assessed the effects of a whole-school equity intervention implemented within a school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) framework on racial inequities in school discipline in eight elementary schools with inequitable referrals for Black students. The intervention involved assessing patterns of racial disparities in…

Although gender gaps associated with K-12 science achievement have narrowed significantly, gaps in science engagement and efficacy in childhood likely explain why women remain underrepresented in science careers. Early intervention programs may address root causes of gender gaps in science careers. Outdoor science education (OSE) is one…

Educational policies and practices have had a long-standing emphasis of conducting incoming literacy screenings to determine who is at risk for school failure. Response to intervention (RTI) is an intervention program designed to deliver educational resources to students who fall below what is deemed an acceptable level of proficiency as viewed…

School counselors are uniquely positioned within the P-12 education system to ensure that all students meet developmental needs in academic, career, and social-emotional areas in order to become successful and contributing members of society. School counselors collaborate with other school staff and parents/caregivers to ensure that students…

Disparities in gifted representation across demographic subgroups represents a large and persistent challenge in U.S. public schools. In this paper, we measure the impacts of a school-wide curricular intervention designed to address such disparities. We implemented Nurturing for a Bright Tomorrow (NBT) as a cluster randomized trial across…

Regardless of the school community or type of school in the United States, Black students are disproportionately excluded from school at a higher rate than any other student group. These discipline practices are a matter of race that negatively impact educational outcomes for Black students and have a direct correlation with their involvement in…

This paper describes a cluster-randomized trial of an after-school program intended to build mathematical identity among students in groups under-represented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Populations under-represented in STEM include women, persons with disabilities, African Americans, and Latino/as (NSF, 2011). U.S.…

Background: Among the most contested topics within special education research concerns racial disparities in students identified with disabilities. This phenomenon, referred to as disproportionality in special education placement, is historically rooted in concerns surrounding the overrepresentation of Black students in special education across…

Previous research suggests that early experience of and exposure to the world of work is an important predictor of a child's future involvement in a STEM career. Many interventions have focused on those in secondary education age 11 years and above. Far fewer interventions have explored the impact of STEM outreach engagements among younger age…

Research suggests that, to narrow the gender gap in engineering, we should focus on helping young girls identify with engineering both because gendered attitudes emerge around kindergarten and because identity is more predictive than performance on persistence in the field. This qualitative study sought to understand the impact of collaborative…