Studies have shown that student engagement in undergraduate research experiences leads to considerable gains in a wide range of skills important for success in postsecondary education and career development. However, recent research suggests that high-impact practices like undergraduate research are disproportionately available to students from…

Underrepresented and underserved college students encounter unique challenges and barriers influencing their mental health and treatment utilization. Responding to national and local student-led demands, we hired a Multicultural Counseling Specialist (MCS) at our student counseling center. This article describes the implementation of the MCS…

Research suggests there are potential benefits to students when taught by instructors who share the same gender and/or race/ethnicity. While underrepresented students have shown increased persistence and academic performance when they were taught by gender- and/or race/ethnicity-congruent faculty, there is little research that has explored the…

Preparing underrepresented students in urban settings for college and career is the focus of this study: Nine students graduating from a diverse, urban early college high school describe their experiences. Using narrative inquiry methods, conversations from nine students are examined to uncover crucial points of convergence: all nine engaged in…

The Act Six program includes full-need, full-tuition student scholarships, extensive training and preparation for students prior to matriculation, and mentorship throughout their time on campus. The purpose of this research was to explore institutional decisions and implications in initiating and sustaining an Act Six partnership. Through an…

Whether students of color are more or less likely to be identified as having disabilities than similarly situated students who are White in U.S. states with histories of de jure and de facto racial segregation is currently unknown. Unadjusted analyses of large samples of students attending elementary and middle schools in the U.S. South yielded…

In current research and theoretical models that address racial inequity or gender disparities in gifted education, there is a missing narrative around high-achieving/gifted Black girls and their experiences, as well as their disproportionate underrepresentation in gifted programming, services, and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. This article…

A primary focus among colleges implementing student success reforms has been to increase overall rates of completing any credential and to reduce racial and socioeconomic equity gaps in such completion rates. The focus on general completion may overlook inequities in the type of program students complete, which is particularly significant given…

On July 21, 2020, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Committee on Science, Engineering, Medicine and Public Policy hosted a virtual workshop, Reopening U.S. Research Universities: Confronting Long-Standing Challenges and Imagining Novel Solutions. Attracting more than 500 participants, the workshop provided an overview…

In this report, the authors examine the many ways Black and Latino students are locked out of the advanced coursework opportunities that can set them up for success in college and careers. Herein, they paint a picture at both national and state levels of how these students are denied access to meaningful advanced coursework opportunities, from…

The United States is plagued by large disparities in life outcomes between racial and ethnic groups. Researchers have documented how gaps in outcomes are related to gaps in access to opportunity, both in education and otherwise. Yet, as documented in this report, too often state policymakers still fail to provide equitable learning opportunities…

In this brief, Research for Action examines the prevalence of school policing in Pennsylvania schools. While data on police presence is limited, this brief is able to examine: (1) race/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in school police staffing and spending; (2) race/ethnic disparities in referrals to law enforcement and school-based arrests by…

The United States leads the world in the number of incarcerated persons per 100,000. In today's global economy, these numbers represent huge wastes in human capital, especially when you consider the inequitable nature of the American criminal justice system, as witnessed by the disproportionate racial and ethnic composition, types of crimes, and…

This article reports results from an experimental study of a classroom intervention intended to decrease racial disproportionality in school discipline by focusing on making classroom behavior systems more culturally responsive and changing teacher behaviors (e.g., use of praise and reprimands). The intervention had three main components: (a) an…

This article presents the research findings of a multidisciplinary team's collective research effort at one university over a five-year period as funded by the National Science Foundation's "Improving Undergraduate STEM Education" (IUSE) program. A collaborative learning and retention action research effort at a large Hispanic Serving…