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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
This project was funded by grant R215U990023 from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) of the United States Department of Education. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
National Research Council (U.S.). Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.
Achieving high educational standards for all : conference summary / Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council ; Timothy Ready, Christopher Edley, Jr., and Catherine E. Snow, editors.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-309-08303-6 (pbk.)
1. Minorities—Education—United States—Congresses. 2. Educational equalization—United States—Congresses. I. Ready, Timothy. II. Edley, Christopher F., 1953- III. Snow, Catherine E. IV. National Research Council (U.S.). Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. V. Millenium Conference: Achieving High Educational Standards for All (2001? : Washington, D.C.?) VI. Title.
LC3731 .N355 2002
379.2'6'0973—dc21
2002002062
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Copyright 2002 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Suggested citation: National Research Council. 2002. Achieving High Educational Standards for All: Conference Summary. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Timothy Ready, Christopher Edley, Jr., and Catherine E. Snow, eds. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
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Education Reform in Context: Research, Politics, and Civil Rights |
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Trends in the Educational Achievement of Minority Students Since Brown v. Board of Education |
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Why Racial Integration and Other Policies Since Brown v. Board of Education Have Only Partially Succeeded at Narrowing the Achievement Gap |
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Education Adequacy, Democracy, and the Courts |
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Preface
Achieving high educational standards for all students is a critical and, to date, unmet goal of the greatest importance for the continued development of human and social capital in the United States. When approached by the U.S. Department of Education with the request to convene a conference on this subject, the National Research Council (NRC) recognized it as a vital opportunity to bring scientific perspectives to bear on one of the most difficult national challenges. The conference brought together leading experts on such subjects as the demographics of the school-age population, issues in access and opportunity, learning research, teaching methods, reform efforts in high-poverty urban schools, and effective technical assistance. They were asked to apply their own research data, as well as the findings of NRC reports, to the question of racial and ethnic disparities in K-12 education, identifying key issues for policy and research. The audience included educators, researchers, and policy makers at the national, state, and local levels. The NRC’s Division on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) was the convening body.
The Millennium Conference: Achieving High Educational Standards for All and two preconference workshops, the Technical Assistance Workshop on Building Instructional Capacity and the Role of the Law Workshop, examined the following questions:
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What progress has been made in advancing the education of mi-
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nority and disadvantaged students since the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision nearly 50 years ago?
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What does research say about the reasons for successes and failures?
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What are some of the strategies and practices that hold the promise of producing continued improvements?
To address them, DBASSE drew on a significant literature related to the social and economic status of racial minorities in the United States, as well as a number of important NRC reports, described in Chapter 1, that have synthesized scientific research in education. This large body of previous work and the experts who were involved in this series of studies represent a rich resource on which we called in planning the conference, deciding on discussion priorities, and identifying paper writers and speakers. In particular, we used these intellectual resources to support one of the main goals of the conference: showing that there is strong scientific evidence to support the idea that all children can learn and, as a corollary, that schools can influence learning.
The Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education and the editors are grateful to the conference sponsors at the U.S. Department of Education: the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, the Office for Civil Rights, the Office of the General Counsel, the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, and the Office of the Secretary. In addition, many Department of Education staff members contributed in important ways to bring the conference about: Norma V. Cantu, Rebecca Fitch, Richard Foster, Judith Johnson, Jeanette Lim, Kent McGuire, Scott Palmer, Pat O’Connell Ross, Mary Schifferli, and Judith Winston. In addition, for their efforts we thank Art Coleman, Louis Danielson, Laura Emmett, Ricardo Hernandez, Kimberly Jenkins, James H. Lockhart, Patricia McNeil, Charles Talbert, Bouy Te, and Rob Wexler.
We also thank the many people who participated in the workshops, which were valuable discussions in themselves as well as laying the groundwork for the conference. Agendas for the workshops are in the appendix. The Technical Assistance Workshop on Building Instructional Capacity was chaired by Cora Marrett and Catherine Snow. Presenters included Wende Allen, David K. Cohen, Barbara Foorman, Louis Gomez, Phyllis Hunter, C. Kent McGuire, Annemarie Palincsar, Sheila Sconiers, Sally Goetz Shuler, Robert Slavin, and Robert Tinker.
The Role of the Law Workshop was chaired by Jacob Adams and Jay Heubert. Presenters included Art Coleman, Lois Gray, Betsy Levin,
Lorraine McDonnell, Margaret J. McLaughlin, Jennifer O’Day, Scott Palmer, Michael Rebell, James Smith, William Taylor, William Trent, Julie Underwood, Ken Warlick, and Paul Weckstein.
The conference paper authors, discussion leaders, and other presenters established an intellectual content and a tone of the highest quality from beginning to end. We would like to thank them all: Christopher Edley, Jr., and Catherine E. Snow, the co-moderators, and the presenters, who were Jacob Adams, Barbara Bowman, John Bransford, Diane Briars, Ronald Ferguson, Barbara Foorman, Patricia Gándara, Eugene Garcia, Antoine Garibaldi, Edmund Gordon, Jay Heubert, Michael Klentschy, Diana Lam, Brian Lord, Samuel Lucas, L. Scott Miller, Gary Orfield, Craig Ramey, Michael Rebell, Lauren Resnick, Bertha Rubio, Carmen Varela Russo, Robert Slavin, Claude Steele, Samuel Stringfield, Marta Tienda, Judith Winston, and Min Zhou.
NRC staff who worked on the conference included Suzanne Donovan, Michael Feuer, Anne Marie Finn, Janet Garton, Karen Mitchell, Faith Mitchell, Timothy Ready, Nat Tipton, and Alexandra Wigdor.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the National Research Council. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: David Grissmer, RAND, Arlington, VA; Meredith Phillips, School of Public Policy and Social Research, University of California, Los Angeles; Barbara Rogoff, Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz; and Russell Rumberger, Department of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara. In addition, Richard Elmore, Harvard University; Margaret Goertz, University of Pennsylvania; Robert Hauser, University of Wisconsin; Paul Minorini, Boys Hope Girls Hope; and Gary Natriello, Columbia University Teachers College provided helpful comments on the three conference papers included in this volume.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Cora B. Marrett, Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin. Appointed by the National Research Council, she was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of
this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Neil Smelser, Chair
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education