Southeast Texas P-16 Council

Researchers from Texas A&M and a center in Bethesda, MD, found that more than half of Texas students were suspended or expelled at least once between 7th and 12th grade.

Texas A&M University Public Policy Research Institute and the Council of State Governments Just Center in Bethesda, MD, conducted the study on over 1 million Texas who were 7th graders in 2000, 2001, and 2002 from six years of discipline records.

The researchers also found that  ”when students are suspended or expelled, the likelihood that they will repeat a grade, not graduate, and/or become involved in the juvenile justice system increases significantly. African-American students and children with particular educational disabilities who qualify for special education were suspended and expelled at especially high rates.”

In the study, “Breaking Schools’ Rules: A Statewide Study of How School Discipline Relates to Students’ Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement,” researchers noted:

• Of the nearly 1 million public secondary school students studied, about 15 percent were suspended or expelled 11 times or more; nearly half of these students with 11 or more disciplinary actions were involved in the juvenile justice system.
• Only three percent of the disciplinary actions were for conduct in which state law mandated suspensions and expulsions; the rest were made at the discretion of school officials primarily in response to violations of local schools’ conduct codes.
• African-American students and those with particular educational disabilities were disproportionately disciplined for discretionary actions. Repeated suspensions and expulsions predicted poor academic outcomes.
• Only 40 percent of students disciplined 11 times or more graduated from high school during the study period, and 31 percent of students disciplined one or more times repeated their grade at least once.
• Schools that had similar characteristics, including the racial composition and economic status of the student body, varied greatly in how frequently they suspended or expelled students.

The College Board is making changes to the AP courses that give more emphasis on what Colleges say they need:  better understanding, better ability to reason and apply knowledge.

The revisions are also designed to accomplish the following broad goals:

• Enable teachers to design curriculum that best serves the needs of each student
• Articulate clearly the connection between the revised course and its corresponding exam
• Prepare AP students for advanced college and university courses
• Continue to reflect the best practices of our talented AP teachers

Changes planned include

“In collaboration with the National Science Foundation, master AP teachers and eminent educators from universities and colleges, the AP Program has spent several years evaluating and revising AP Biology. This collaboration has led to a powerful new course, endorsed enthusiastically by higher education officials, with benefits for all members of the AP community,” the AP site says