One of the generally accepted premises of current economic thinking is that a large and expanding proportion of growth is tied to what has come to be known as the "knowledge economy" or equivalently, the innovation sector. Despite recent U.S. Census Bureau data indicating that Latinos now constitute the largest minority group of the U.S.…

New Mexicans of Native American and Hispanic ancestry participate less often and less successfully in the higher education system than do other groups. This fact has been demonstrated repeatedly in various studies and is exacerbated by a cycle of poverty, inadequate academic and financial preparation for college, and other issues related to…

This report contains the proceedings of a hearing on the overidentification of students with disabilities that was conducted on October 4, 2001, before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce. The report includes opening statements by Chairman John Boehner and Representative George Miller and the…

A comprehensive, quantitative evaluation of an educational intervention program designed to reduce the attrition of minorities from the biological sciences was undertaken to ascertain whether such efforts adequately address the problem. Program participants had greater odds of persisting in basic math and science courses, and of graduating in…

In the present quantitative and qualitative study, school psychologists provided responses to a paper-and-pencil survey about their perceptions of the disproportionate representation of African American students in special education. They described their perceptions of the causes and solutions for overrepresentation by providing ratings on…

This study examines the perception of minority students underrepresented in the medical profession regarding educational and career barriers and to ascertain gender differences on their perceptions. A 30 item educational and career barriers inventory was administered to 97 underrepresented minority (URM) students enrolled in a special premedical…

Throughout the United States, schools most frequently punish the students who have the greatest academic, social, economic, and emotional needs. An examination of which students are most likely to be suspended, expelled, or removed from the classroom for punishment, reveals that minorities (especially Blacks and Latinos), males, and low achievers…

In this article, major laws, regulations, court cases, policies and practices related to intelligence testing of African American students in California are reviewed. A California Department of Education (CDE) ban on intelligence testing of African American students for the purpose of determining special education eligibility is in effect and…

This article provides a brief review of the literature on the legal, social, and racial factors that affect and describe minority confinement in the juvenile justice system. To identify appropriate literature, the authors searched electronic resources through the University of Maryland library research system called Research Port. The findings in…

Extant literature on the underrepresentation of African Americans in science-related careers has identified numerous factors that correlate with students' career considerations. While these correlations provide substantial insight, the tendency to infer cause is problematic. This position paper draws on data from an exploratory study to illustrate…

In this first-person paper, educator Dr. Lionel Brown takes a sweeping look at the racial crises that have erupted in his home city of Cincinnati during his lifetime, and proposes that education is the only real, long-term way of addressing and disrupting the repeating pattern of violence. He highlights a selection of current and proposed…

This article provides a national perspective on the schools and school programs for students with emotional disturbances (ED) who are served in special education, using nationally representative data from the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS) and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). The authors describe…

This study investigated the extent to which the overrepresentation of African American students in more restrictive special education settings is attributable to their overrepresentation in disability categories more likely to be served in more restrictive educational environments. Within 5 disability categories (emotional disturbance, mild mental…

The empirical evidence about whom charter schools serve is extensive but inconclusive. Some studies conclude that America's charter schools serve a larger percentage of minority and low-income students than do the nation's traditional public schools (TPS) (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). Other studies find charter students are not more…

The New York Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) studies of public schools continue with this report on course work for gifted students and public middle school students in general. Fourteen ACORN volunteers made 52 visits to 28 schools studied in 1996. Findings from these visits and the review of school system documents…