Dive Brief:
- Education researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Wisconsin Equity and Inclusion Laboratory and a handful of other university research centers have released a new paper focused on achieving better outcomes for boys and men of color.
- “Advancing the success of boys and men of color in education: Recommendations for federal policymakers" reproduces 2013 U.S. Department of Education data showing that black male students scored lower than white, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American boys on reading and math assessments.
- In all, 15 solutions are recommended in the paper, covering everything from adopting "tracking systems to identify pre-K-12 schools with disproportionately high suspension and special education placement rates" to focusing on "increasing men of color as teachers, principals and school counselors."
Dive Insight:
The report was produced in conjunction with the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education (University of Pennsylvania), the Minority Male Community College Collaborative (San Diego State University), Morehouse Research Institute (Morehouse College), Project MALES and the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color (University of Texas at Austin), Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male (Ohio State University), and UCLA Black Male Institute (University of California, Los Angeles).
This collaboration is key, according to Tyrone Howard, director of the UCLA Black Male Institute. In a press release, he emphasized that the significance "cannot be overstated. At a time when the value of the lives of young boys of color continues to come into question, our report provides research-based interventions, responses, and solutions to vexing problems that policymakers, philanthropic organizations, and community-based institutions sorely need to take to heart."