George Farkas

Racial Disparities and Discrimination in Education: What We Know, How Do We Know It, and What Do We Need To Know?.

This paper reviews what we have learned about racial discrepancies in education, with particular attention to those that might be attributable to discrimination. Empirical studies have found that, on average, African American, Latino, and American Indian children arrive at kindergarten or first grade with lower levels of oral language, prereading, and premathematics skills, as well as lesser general knowledge, than that possessed by White and Asian American children. African American, Latino, and American Indian children are also reported to display behaviors less well suited to the school’s learning environment. It has been estimated that at least half, and probably more, of the Black-White gap in twelfth-grade academic achievement would be eliminated if we could eliminate the Black-White performance gap at school entry. The remainder of the performance gap occurs during grades one through twelve. It is here that researchers have looked for discrimination by teachers and school administrators. In particular, they have looked for curricular track placements that, adjusting for prior performance, are disadvantageous for ethnic minority students. They have also looked for the possibility that teachers hold lower expectations for, and are less encouraging to, minority students. The evidence on these matters is mixed. It is suggested that, with the cooperation of school administrators and teachers, district-specific studies of these issues might be undertaken, using both local administrative data and participantobservational methods.

The Role of Depressed Mood and Anger in the Relationship between Family Conflict and Delinquent Behavior.

Drawing on R. Agnews (Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology 30: 47–87, 1992) general strain theory, this paper examines whether depressed mood and anger mediate the effects of family conflict on delinquency. We examine data on 7758 students, 14–16 years old, attending the compulsory 9th and 10th grades of the Icelandic secondary school system. We use structural equation modeling to show that exposure to arguments and fights at home are positively related to both depressed mood and anger among adolescents. Anger is positively associated with delinquent behavior whereas depressed mood has no effect on delinquency.

Mathematics Growth in Early Elementary School: The Roles of Beginning Knowledge, Student Engagement, and Instruction

We used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS‐K) data to examine how important mathematics readiness levels are to subsequent achievement growth and the efficacy of instruction and engagement in producing such growth. The ECLS‐K selected a nationally representative sample of kindergartners in fall 1998 and is following these children through the end of eighth grade. We employed the standardized mathematics assessments that were administered to the students by ECLS‐K staff. Separately for students who began kindergarten with low, medium‐low, medium‐high, and high mathematics skill, we examined achievement growth through third grade and the effects of teacher‐reported time on mathematics instruction and student engagement (as perceived by the teacher) on such growth. We found that students who began with the lowest achievement also showed the least growth over this period. Students in the two highest skills groups had similar growth, and the highest levels of growth. Students in the lowest group received the most time on instruction but had the lowest engagement with instruction. Time on instruction increased achievement for all students equally, but the effect of engagement was strongest among the lowest‐performing group. The lower engagement of the lowest‐performing group explained more than half of their lower achievement growth in grades K–3. If inequality in mathematics achievement is to be reduced, teachers must make greater efforts to improve the beginning knowledge and academic engagement of this group.

Five-Year Growth Trajectories of Kindergarten Children With Learning Difficulties in Mathematics

The investigators used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) to estimate whether and to what extent the timing and persistence of mathematics difficulties (MD) in kindergarten predicted childrens first through fifth grade math growth trajectories. Results indicated that children persistently displaying MD (i.e., those experiencing MD in both fall and spring of kindergarten) had the lowest subsequent growth rates, children with MD in spring only had the second-lowest growth rates, and children with MD in the fall only (and who had thus recovered from their MD by the spring of kindergarten) had the next-lowest growth rates. The children who did not have MD in either fall or spring of kindergarten had the highest growth rates. These results were observed prior to and after statistical control for additional variables. They indicate that measuring the timing and persistence of kindergarten childrens mathematics learning difficulties may help identify those most at risk for failing to become mathematically proficient during elementary school.

Are Reading and Behavior Problems Risk Factors for Each Other

Two questions were investigated. First, are children with reading problems in first grade more likely to experience behavior problems in third grade? Second, are children with behavior problems in first grade more likely to experience reading problems in third grade? The authors explored both questions by using multilevel logistic regression modeling to analyze data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K). After statistically controlling for a wide range of potential confounds, they found that children with reading problems in first grade were significantly more likely to display poor task engagement, poor self-control, externalizing behavior problems, and internalizing behavior problems in third grade. They also found that children displaying poor task engagement in first grade were more likely to experience reading problems in third grade. Collectively, these findings suggest that the most effective types of interventions are likely to be those that target problems with reading and task-focused behaviors simultaneously.

Education, Wage Rates, and the Division of Labor Between Husband and Wife.

Competing hypotheses relating the division qf labor between husband and wife to their absolute level qf education, their relative level qf education, and their relative wage rates are identified, and are combined in a fully specified model This model is estimated from panel data and it is found that neither the absolute educational level (subcultural) hypothesis nor the relative wage rate (economic) hypothesis can be rejected, although the strongest net effects are due to the presence of children. Implications for the further study qf family behavior are drawn.

WHO IS PLACED INTO SPECIAL EDUCATION

The authors use nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) to identify variables measured in the fall of 1998 (when the sample’s students were in kindergarten) that predict special education placement by the spring of 2004 (when most students were finishing fifth grade). Placement’s strongest kindergarten predictor is a student’s level of academic achievement. Also important is the student’s frequency of classroom task engagement. There is a “frog-pond” contextual effect—attending an elementary school with high levels of overall student academic ability and behavior increases a student’s likelihood of special education placement. This is the case even after statistically controlling for a wide range of individual-, family-, and school-level characteristics. Social class background displayed a weak or statistically nonsignificant relation with special education placement. However, girls are placed less frequently than boys. African American, Hispanic, and Asian students are placed less frequently than non-Hispanic whites. The under- or equal-placement rates for racial/ethnic minorities are partially explained by their concentration in high-minority schools.

Pay Equity: Empirical Inquiries.

Are women paid less than men when they hold comparable jobs? Is there gender bias in the way wages are set? Or can wage differences between men and women be explained by legitimate market forces? Pay Equity: Empirical Inquiries answers these questions in 10 original research papers. The papers explore race- and gender-based differences in wages, at the level both of individuals and of occupations. They also assess the effects of the implementation of comparable worth plans for private firms, states, and--on an international level--for Australia, Great Britain, and the United States.

Preschool Center Quality and School Readiness: Quality Effects and Variation by Demographic and Child Characteristics.

This article examines associations between observed quality in preschool center classrooms for approximately 6,250 three- to five-year-olds and their school readiness skills at kindergarten entry. Secondary analyses were conducted using data from four large-scale studies to estimate the effects of preschool center quality and interactions between quality and demographic characteristics and child entry skills and behaviors. Findings were summarized across studies using meta-analytic methods. Results indicate small, but statistically significant associations for preschool center quality main effects on language and mathematics outcomes with little evidence of moderation by demographic characteristics or child entry skills and behaviors. Preschool center quality was not reliably related to socioemotional outcomes. The authors discuss possible explanations for the small effect sizes and lack of differential effects.

A Propensity Score Matching Analysis of the Effects of Special Education Services

We sought to quantify the effectiveness of special education services as naturally delivered in U.S. schools. Specifically, we examined whether children receiving special education services displayed (a) greater reading or mathematics skills, (b) more frequent learning-related behaviors, or (c) less frequent externalizing or internalizing problem behaviors than closely matched peers not receiving such services. To do so, we used propensity score matching techniques to analyze data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998—99, a large-scale, nationally representative sample of U.S. schoolchildren. Collectively, results indicate that receipt of special education services has either a negative or a statistically nonsignificant impact on children’s learning and behavior. However, special education services do yield a small, positive effect on children’s learning-related behaviors.