Comments on the original article "Sex Differences in Intrinsic Aptitude for Mathematics and Science?: A Critical Review," by E. S. Spelke (see record EJ733610). Spelke's critical review is a research-based rebuttal (though implicitly) of Summers's (2005) speech that posited a hypothesis that one of the reasons why women are underrepresented in…

This manuscript discusses proactive approaches for education leadership preparation programs to recruit and retain minority graduate students. A review of related literature is provided. The paper discusses barriers that contribute to low incidents of minority principals and minority principal candidates. Recommendations for creating pathways for…

This review of the literature addresses the issue of assessing students with disabilities who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD). An examination of data showing disproportionate representation of students with disabilities who are CLD establishes a case for using alternative forms of assessment. Problems with some forms of traditional…

Black student retention in institutions of higher education is an important 21st-century issue. Thompson, Gorin, Obeidat, and Chen (2006) asserted that Blacks are still underrepresented in institutions of higher education and graduate at lower rates than Whites and Asians over a 5-year period. According to the American Council on Education, at the…

School leaders are often placed on the "hot seat" when negative images of the school, its staff, or its students appear in the local media. Such reports can strongly affect a school's public and image and, in turn, impact the climate both in the community and within the school itself. Sometimes these perceptions are not based on fact; however,…

Significant numbers of students are being pushed out of school as a result of "zero tolerance" school discipline policies. While nobody questions the need to keep schools safe, teachers, students, and parents are questioning the methods being used in pursuit of that goal. Initially enacted to counter violent behavior and drug use, zero tolerance…

Studies have found substantial sorting of teachers across schools, with the schools with the highest proportions of poor, non-white, and low-scoring students having the least qualified teachers as measured by certification, exam performance, and inexperience (Lankford, Loeb and Wyckoff, 2002). Yet, there have been substantial changes in the…

Prompted by a puzzling recent growth in the proportions of minority entrants from Community Colleges (CCTs) into the Florida State University System (SUS), the current study analyzed over one million SUS applicants to determine whether any biases in entrance test scores tended to favor either whites over minorities, or males over females. Today,…

This fact sheet provides statistics describing the current status of high school graduates' readiness for life after high school. It highlights some of the challenges and opportunities facing high school students after graduation as well as some of the consequences and implications for America's underprepared and underserved graduates. [This…

Women's studies programs, multicultural centers, and organizations to support gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students are campus fixtures. Few now question diversity's contribution to the education of all students. Jennifer Duffy suggests that it's time to acknowledge, support, and celebrate one more form of diversity that is mostly…

The Educational Policy Institute (EPI) is an international think tank launched in 2002 "to expand educational opportunity for low-income and other historically underrepresented students through high-level research and analysis." Financial aid to students is a major element in expanding opportunity and thus is a major focus of EPI. Alex…

This articles reports on the findings of a study carried out in 2003-2004 which examined gender perspectives in the delivery and assessment of junior cycle history. The study was a collaborative effort between the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University College Dublin, and the Centre for Gender and Women's Studies, Trinity College…

Over the past twenty years several topics covered in "New Directions for Evaluation" (NDE) are relevant to underrepresented groups, including cultural sensitivity; cultural competence; stakeholder-based, responsive, democratic deliberation; and participatory evaluation theories, methodologies, and practices. Also, the topic of social justice and…

The scope of this article is to discuss the impact of underrepresentation of girls in separate, self-contained special education classes for preschool children in a large school district in the southeastern United States. On a regular basis, preschool girls identified with special needs are being placed in self-contained classes where there they…

Large nationally representative samples of White, Black, Hispanic, Asian American, and American Indian students were used in this study to examine current patterns and recent trends in racial, ethnic, and gender differences in school discipline from 1991 to 2005. Findings revealed that Black, Hispanic, and American Indian youth are slightly more…