Data & Research
Ending the Deficiency Mind-Set
Ending the Deficiency Mind-Set: creating data driven opportunities for Latina and Latino students
It's simply not good enough to know the data if it's not being discussed and used in impactful ways to effect change and create solutions. Students deserve the investment of understanding research and relevance to develop access to life's possibilities. It is the responsibility of educators to change the perception of achievement gaps and create opportunities: educational, economic, mindful, and meaningful.
It's simply not good enough to know the data if it's not being discussed and used in impactful ways to effect change and create solutions. Students deserve the investment of understanding research and relevance to develop access to life's possibilities. It is the responsibility of educators to change the perception of achievement gaps and create opportunities: educational, economic, mindful, and meaningful.
The Casual Effects of Cultural Relevance:
EVIDENCE FROM AN ETHNIC STUDIES CURRICULUM
Authored by: Thomas Dee & Emily Penner
January 2016
ABSTRACT
An extensive theoretical and qualitative literature stresses the promise of instructional practices and content aligned with the cultural experiences of minority students. Ethnic studies courses provide a growing but controversial example of such “culturally relevant pedagogy.” However, the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these courses is limited. In this study, we estimate the causal effects of an ethnic studies curriculum piloted in several San Francisco high schools. We rely on a “fuzzy” regression discontinuity design based on the fact that several schools assigned students with eighth-grade GPAs below a threshold to take the course in ninth grade. Our results indicate that assignment to this course increased ninth-grade student attendance by 21 percentage points, GPA by 1.4 grade points, and credits earned by 23. These surprisingly large effects are consistent with the hypothesis that the course reduced dropout rates and suggest that culturally relevant teaching, when implemented in a supportive, high-fidelity context, can provide effective support to at-risk students.
Read/Download the study, below:
Authored by: Thomas Dee & Emily Penner
January 2016
ABSTRACT
An extensive theoretical and qualitative literature stresses the promise of instructional practices and content aligned with the cultural experiences of minority students. Ethnic studies courses provide a growing but controversial example of such “culturally relevant pedagogy.” However, the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these courses is limited. In this study, we estimate the causal effects of an ethnic studies curriculum piloted in several San Francisco high schools. We rely on a “fuzzy” regression discontinuity design based on the fact that several schools assigned students with eighth-grade GPAs below a threshold to take the course in ninth grade. Our results indicate that assignment to this course increased ninth-grade student attendance by 21 percentage points, GPA by 1.4 grade points, and credits earned by 23. These surprisingly large effects are consistent with the hypothesis that the course reduced dropout rates and suggest that culturally relevant teaching, when implemented in a supportive, high-fidelity context, can provide effective support to at-risk students.
Read/Download the study, below:
Missing the (Student Achievement) Forest for All the (Political) Trees:
Empiricism and the Mexican American Studies Controversy in Tucson
Authored by: Nolan L. Cabrera, Jeffrey F. Milem, Ozan Jaquette and Ronald W. Marx
October 2014
"Our findings establish that taking MAS courses corresponded to a significant, increased likelihood that
students would pass the AIMS tests and graduate from high school. Based on the findings of our earlier study, the approved USP included the following provision: ‘‘By the beginning of the 2013–2014 school year, the District shall develop and implement culturally relevant courses of instruction designed to reflect the history, experiences, and culture of African American and Mexican American communities.’’ In so doing, an agenda for the next round of publicly engaged scholarship has been set."
Read/Download the study, below:
Authored by: Nolan L. Cabrera, Jeffrey F. Milem, Ozan Jaquette and Ronald W. Marx
October 2014
"Our findings establish that taking MAS courses corresponded to a significant, increased likelihood that
students would pass the AIMS tests and graduate from high school. Based on the findings of our earlier study, the approved USP included the following provision: ‘‘By the beginning of the 2013–2014 school year, the District shall develop and implement culturally relevant courses of instruction designed to reflect the history, experiences, and culture of African American and Mexican American communities.’’ In so doing, an agenda for the next round of publicly engaged scholarship has been set."
Read/Download the study, below:
An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Mexican American Studies
Participation on Student Achievement within Tucson Unified School District
Authored by: Nolan L. Cabrera, Jeffrey F. Milem, and Ronald W. Marx
June 2012
Introduction
At the request of the Special Master, Dr. Willis D. Hawley, these analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between participating in the Tucson Unified School District’s (TUSD) Mexican American Studies (MAS) program and student achievement (positively, negatively, or no relationship). While the MAS program has been known by other names (e.g., Raza Studies), for the sake of continuity, the program will be referred to as MAS throughout the duration of this report. There are two central questions guiding these analyses:
Read/Download the report, below:
Authored by: Nolan L. Cabrera, Jeffrey F. Milem, and Ronald W. Marx
June 2012
Introduction
At the request of the Special Master, Dr. Willis D. Hawley, these analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between participating in the Tucson Unified School District’s (TUSD) Mexican American Studies (MAS) program and student achievement (positively, negatively, or no relationship). While the MAS program has been known by other names (e.g., Raza Studies), for the sake of continuity, the program will be referred to as MAS throughout the duration of this report. There are two central questions guiding these analyses:
- What are the relationships between taking MAS courses and educational performance?
- Are these relationships consistent for different cohorts of students over the years?
Read/Download the report, below:
The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies
A Research Review
Authored by: Christine E. Sleeter
2011
Executive Summary
Ethnic studies includes units of study, courses, or programs that are centered on the knowledge and perspectives of an ethnic or racial group, reflecting narratives and points of view rooted in that group’s lived experiences and intellectual scholarship. Ethnic studies arose as a counter to the traditional mainstream curriculum. Numerous content analyses of textbooks have found an ongoing marginalization of scholarship by and about African Americans, Latino/as, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. In acknowledgement of the dominance of Euro-American perspectives in mainstream curricula, such curricula can be viewed as ‘Euro-American ethnic studies.’ As students of color proceed through the school system, research finds that the overwhelming dominance of Euro-American perspectives leads many such students to disengage from academic learning. Ethnic studies curricula exist in part because students of color have demanded an education that is relevant, meaningful, and affirming of their identities. This review analyzes published studies and reviews of research that systematically document the impact of ethnic studies curricula, Pre-K through higher education, on students, academically as well as socially.
Read/Download the NEA research, below:
Authored by: Christine E. Sleeter
2011
Executive Summary
Ethnic studies includes units of study, courses, or programs that are centered on the knowledge and perspectives of an ethnic or racial group, reflecting narratives and points of view rooted in that group’s lived experiences and intellectual scholarship. Ethnic studies arose as a counter to the traditional mainstream curriculum. Numerous content analyses of textbooks have found an ongoing marginalization of scholarship by and about African Americans, Latino/as, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. In acknowledgement of the dominance of Euro-American perspectives in mainstream curricula, such curricula can be viewed as ‘Euro-American ethnic studies.’ As students of color proceed through the school system, research finds that the overwhelming dominance of Euro-American perspectives leads many such students to disengage from academic learning. Ethnic studies curricula exist in part because students of color have demanded an education that is relevant, meaningful, and affirming of their identities. This review analyzes published studies and reviews of research that systematically document the impact of ethnic studies curricula, Pre-K through higher education, on students, academically as well as socially.
Read/Download the NEA research, below:
Curriculum Audit of the Mexican American Studies Department Tucson Unified School District
Tucson, Arizona
May 2011
Audit Purpose
The purpose of the Tucson Unified School District Mexican American Studies Department Curriculum Audit is to determine: (1) how or if the Tucson Unified School District Mexican American Studies Department programs are designed to improve student achievement; (2) if statistically valid measures indicated student achievement occurred; and (3) whether the Mexican American Studies Department’s curriculum is in compliance with A.R.S 15-112(A).
Read/Dowload the audit, below:
Tucson, Arizona
May 2011
Audit Purpose
The purpose of the Tucson Unified School District Mexican American Studies Department Curriculum Audit is to determine: (1) how or if the Tucson Unified School District Mexican American Studies Department programs are designed to improve student achievement; (2) if statistically valid measures indicated student achievement occurred; and (3) whether the Mexican American Studies Department’s curriculum is in compliance with A.R.S 15-112(A).
Read/Dowload the audit, below:
Leaks in the Chicana & Chicano Educational Pipeline
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Authored by: Tara J. Yosso and Daniel G. Solórzano
March 2006 Academic institutions facilitate the flow of knowledge, skills, and students through the educational pipeline. Yet, no matter how one measures educational outcomes, Chicana/os suffer the lowest educational attainment of any major racial or ethnic group in the United States. This brief calls for the repair of the serious and persistent leaks in the Chicana/o educational pipeline. Most Chicana/os who pursue higher education begin at the community college. In California, for example, 40% of Latina/os who enroll in community colleges aspire to transfer to a four-year college or university. However, less than 10% of these students reach their goal of transferring to a four-year college. Download the study, below: |
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