scholarly journals Who Gets in? Examining Inequality in Eighth-Grade Algebra

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 529-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karisma Morton ◽  
Catherine Riegle-Crumb
Keyword(s):  
Racial Differences ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
Hispanic Students ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
Opportunities To Learn ◽  
Urban District ◽  
Predominantly Hispanic ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Reproduction Of Inequality

Using data from a large urban district, this study investigated whether racial inequality in access to eighth-grade algebra is a reproduction of differences in prior opportunities to learn (as evidenced by grades, test scores, and level of prior mathematics course) or whether patterns reflect an increase in inequality such that racial differences in access remain when controlling for academic background. We considered how this varies by the racial composition of the school; further, we examined differences in access between both Black and Hispanic students and their White peers as well as differences between Black and Hispanic students. The results point to patterns of reproduction of inequality in racially integrated schools, with some evidence of increasing inequality in predominantly Hispanic schools

scholarly journals Race and Consumption

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphaël Charron-Chénier ◽  
Joshua J. Fink ◽  
Lisa A. Keister
Keyword(s):  
Racial Differences ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
Consumer Expenditure ◽  
Racial Stratification ◽  
Income Levels ◽  
Total Spending ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Heterogeneous Effects ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Black Households

Differences in consumption patterns are usually treated as a matter of preferences. In this article, the authors examine consumption from a structural perspective and argue that black households face unique constraints restricting their ability to acquire important goods and services. Using data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys, the authors examine racial differences in total spending and in spending on major categories of goods and services (food, transportation, utilities, housing, health care, and entertainment). The authors also capture heterogeneous effects of racial stratification across class by modeling racial consumption gaps across household income levels. The results show that black households tend to have lower levels of total spending than their white counterparts and that these disparities tend to persist across income levels. Overall, these analyses indicate that racial disparities in consumption exist independently of other economic disparities and may be a key unexamined factor in the reproduction of racial inequality.

scholarly journals Integration of various scales for measurement of insomnia

2021 ◽  
pp. 263208432110100
Author(s):  
Satyendra Nath Chakrabartty
Keyword(s):  
Test Scores ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Weighted Sum ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Normal Probability ◽  
Equivalent Test ◽  
Item Scores ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Different Levels

Background Scales for evaluating insomnia differ in number of items, response format, and result in different scores distributions and score ranges and may not facilitate meaningful comparisons. Objectives Transform ordinal item-scores of three scales of insomnia to continuous, equidistant, monotonic, normally distributed scores, avoiding limitations of summative scoring of Likert scales. Methods Equidistant item-scores by weighted sum using data-driven weights to different levels of different items, considering cell frequencies of Item-Levels matrix, followed by normalization and conversion to [1, 10]. Equivalent test-scores (as sum of transformed item- scores) for a pair of scales were found by Normal Probability curves. Empirical illustration given. Results Transformed test-scores are continuous, monotonic and followed Normal distribution with no outliers and tied scores. Such test-scores facilitate ranking, better classification and meaningful comparison of scales of different lengths and formats and finding equivalent score combinations of two scales. For a given value of transformed test-score of a scale, easy alternate method avoiding integration proposed to find equivalent scores of another scales. Equivalent scores of scales help to relate various cut-off scores of different scales and uniformity in interpretations. Integration of various scales of insomnia is achieved by finding one-to-one correspondence among the equivalent score of various scales with correlation over 0.99 Conclusion Resultant test-scores facilitated undertaking analysis in parametric set up. Considering the theoretical advantages including meaningfulness of operations, better comparison, use of such method of transforming scores of Likert items/test is recommended test and items, Future studies were suggested.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Caregiving: Racial Examinations of Resiliency and Stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 352-352
Author(s):  
Athena Koumoutzis ◽  
Kelly Cichy
Keyword(s):  
Racial Differences ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Stress Process Model ◽  
Parental Caregiving ◽  
The Family ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Midlife Adults ◽  
Emotional Strain

Abstract Adult children are at risk of emotional strain when parental caregiving needs emerge. Pearlin’s Stress Process Model (1990) and caregiver studies suggest minority caregivers report lower subjective caregiving burden, however, few studies simultaneously consider both the stresses and rewards of caregiving. Using data from Wave II of the Family Exchange Study (N = 243), we examine racial differences in midlife adults’ perceptions (i.e., stress and rewards) of assisting their parents with activities of daily living (ADLs) and the associations between perceptions of ADL assistance and emotional well-being among adults who help their parents with ADLs. Compared to non-minority caregivers (M = 4.18, SD = 0.91), minority caregivers (M = 4.45, SD = 0.84) found it more rewarding to help their mother (t(314) = -2.54, p < .05), whereas non-minority caregivers (M = 2.25, SD = .1.27) found it more stressful to help their father than did minority caregivers (M = 1.64, SD = 0.99), t(162) = 3.01, p < .01). After controlling for demographics and ADL needs, linear regression analyses revealed that the stress of helping parents predicted depression (F(6, 189) = 5.30, p < .001) and race moderated the association (p < .01); the association was only significant for minority caregivers (p < .05). Implications will be discussed.

On Describing an Incidence Sample

1982 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwyneth M. Boodoo
Keyword(s):  
Variance Components ◽  
Generalizability Theory ◽  
Standard Errors ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
Eighth Grade Students ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Mean And Variance ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Variance Estimates

Parameters used to describe an incidence sample are estimated using the theory of generalized symmetric means and generalizability theory. The former is used to compute estimates of the mean and variance components in an ANOVA framework, while the latter is used in obtaining generalizability coefficients. Standard errors of the variance estimates are obtained. The procedure is illustrated using data from two competency-based tests given to eighth grade students in mathematics and reading.

Ability Grouping in the Early Grades: Long-Term Consequences for Educational Equity in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-50
Author(s):  
Anthony Buttaro ◽  
Sophia Catsambis
Keyword(s):  
Test Scores ◽  
Ability Grouping ◽  
Educational Equity ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
High Ability ◽  
Ability Group ◽  
English Classes ◽  
Early Grades ◽  
Ability Groups ◽  
Educational Paths

Background Ability grouping has resurged in U.S. schools despite long-standing debates over its consequences for educational equity. Proponents argue that it is the best response to variation in academic skills because it allows teachers to customize the content and pace of instruction to students’ diverse needs. Critics answer that this practice places students in divergent educational paths that reproduce educational and social inequalities. Despite the contested nature of ability grouping, research has yet to produce reliable longitudinal evidence to evaluate critics’ claims. Objective We examine the degree to which exposure to within-class grouping for reading instruction from kindergarten to third grade is predictive of students’ reading test scores and English coursework in the middle grades. Research Design We use multilevel achievement growth models predicting average reading achievement from kindergarten to eighth grade as a function of years of exposure in low, average, or high ability groups in kindergarten through third grade and control variables relevant to each grade. We evaluate the achievement differences between students who are grouped in these ability groups for one or more years and those who were never ability grouped. We use multinomial logistic regression models to estimate the degree to which number of years in each ability group in K–3 grades predicts placements in eighth-grade English classes (below grade or honors, as opposed to regular English classes). Data We use data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS–K), a national panel study of the 1998 U.S. kindergarten cohort sponsored by National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Our sample consists of 7,800 students with data for fall of kindergarten, and spring of kindergarten and first, third, fifth, and eighth grades. Findings Compared with similar students who were ungrouped in the early grades, those in high-ability reading groups have higher test scores, whereas those in low-ability groups have lower test scores in every grade from kindergarten to the eighth grade. In addition, compared with their ungrouped counterparts, students in low-ability groups in the early grades are more likely to enroll in eighth grade English classes that are below grade level, whereas those in high-ability groups in these grades are more likely to enroll in honors eighth-grade English classes. Achievement gaps between previously grouped and ungrouped students increase with every additional year of exposure to ability grouping. Conclusions Students’ ability group placements in the early grades evolve into divergent educational paths that grow further apart with multiple years of grouping. These findings provide the first longitudinal evidence linking ability grouping to the reproduction of educational inequalities.

scholarly journals It’s Still about Race: Peremptory Challenge Use on Black Prospective Jurors

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Whitney DeCamp ◽  
Elise DeCamp
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Jury Selection ◽  
Racially Diverse ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Peremptory Challenge ◽  
Using Data

Objectives: The use of race as a motive for excluding individuals from serving on juries in American criminal trials is unconstitutional. Nevertheless, Black individuals remain substantially more likely than others to be removed during jury selection through peremptory challenges. This study tests whether and to what extent there is a racial effect on peremptory challenge use by the prosecution or the defense. Method: Using data from 2,542 venire members in Mississippi, propensity score matching is used to examine racial differences in jury selection by comparing Black venire members to similarly situated White venire member counterparts. Results: Findings suggest that Black venire members are 4.51 times as likely to be excluded from a jury due to peremptory challenges from the prosecution in comparison to White venire members. Conversely, White venire members are 4.21 times as likely to be excluded through peremptory challenges by the defense in comparison to Black venire members. Conclusions: After controlling for all observed variables, there remain significant differences between White and Black venire members, suggesting racial discrimination by both the prosecution and the defense in peremptory challenge usage. Black individuals are more likely to be excluded from juries through these effects, resulting in less racially diverse juries.

scholarly journals After the Rainy Day: How Private Resources Shape Personal Trajectories following Job Loss and Amplify Racial Inequality

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alix Gould-Werth
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
Job Loss ◽  
Market Failure ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Depth Interviews

Using data from in-depth interviews with a diverse group of people who lost jobs between 2007 and 2011, my study identifies the important role of private resource banks—reserves of personal resources such as assets and social connections amassed during more favorable times—following job loss. Without these resources, job losers are unable to move past the struggle to survive and onto recovery (through reemployment, comfortable labor market exit, or buffered labor market failure). Because private resources are unequally distributed by race, Black respondents are less able to leverage these resources toward recovery than their White counterparts. These results suggest that job loss may be a turning point in the life course—like incarceration, childbirth, and eviction—in which racial inequality is magnified and reproduced.

The Political Origins of Racial Inequality

2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Maltby
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Policy Feedback ◽  
Political Inequality ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
Black Populations ◽  
Using Data

Policy feedback theory argues that public policies shape mass political behavior by teaching citizens about their relationship to government. I reevaluate this argument by examining how criminal justice policy shapes the political orientations and participation of blacks and whites. I argue that, because these policies send different messages to blacks than to whites about the treatment they can expect from government, these groups have opposite reactions to criminal justice enforcement. Using data from a 2014 national survey and information on local criminal justice outcomes, I find that racially skewed criminal justice enforcement is associated with negative political orientations and lower rates of political participation for highly educated blacks. I also find that whites respond positively to similar criminal justice outcomes when they reside in areas with large black populations. The results show that unequal policy outcomes lead to political inequality.

scholarly journals Can Tracking Raise the Test Scores of High-Ability Minority Students?

2016 ◽  
Vol 106 (10) ◽  
pp. 2783-2816 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Card ◽  
Laura Giuliano
Keyword(s):  
Minority Students ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Cohort Analysis ◽  
Sixth Grade ◽  
High Achievers ◽  
Urban District ◽  
High Achiever ◽  
Math Scores ◽  
Reading And Math ◽  
Positive Spillovers

We evaluate a tracking program in a large urban district where schools with at least one gifted fourth grader create a separate “gifted/high achiever” classroom. Most seats are filled by non-gifted high achievers, ranked by previous-year test scores. We study the program's effects on the high achievers using (i) a rank-based regres sion discontinuity design, and (ii) a between-school/cohort analysis. We find significant effects that are concentrated among black and Hispanic participants. Minorities gain 0.5 standard deviation units in fourth-grade reading and math scores, with persistent gains through sixth grade. We find no evidence of negative or positive spillovers on nonparticipants. (JEL I21, J21, J24)

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