Synopsis
Students' risk of suspension is more strongly determined by which school they attend than by their backgrounds—including their race, gender or income. A subset of Chicago schools—about a quarter of high schools and 10 percent of schools with middle grades—have very high suspension rates, and almost all of these schools predominantly serve African American students. These schools' students come from the poorest neighborhoods with the lowest incoming achievement; many have been victims of abuse or neglect. At high-suspending high schools, about half of students received a suspension in the 2013-14 school year. This report examines reasons for racial and gender disparities in suspension rates and finds that suspensions are concentrated among schools serving the most vulnerable student populations. It also explores the degree to which differences in schools' suspension rates are related to school climate and student achievement.
About the Author
LAUREN SARTAIN is a research analyst at UChicago CCSR. She has a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and a MPP and PhD from the Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. ELAINE M. ALLENSWORTH is the Executive Director of UChicago CCSR. She conducts research on factors affecting school improvement and students' educational attainment, including high school graduation, college readiness, curriculum and instruction, and school organization and leadership. SHANETTE PORTER is a senior research analyst at the Consortium on Chicago School Research. Her current research focuses on the impact of policy change on school approaches and outcomes, as well as the role of social, emotional, and motivational factors in predicting student outcomes. Porter received her PhD in social and personality psychology from Cornell University, her MA in industrial-organizational psychology from Michigan State University, and her BA in Psychology from Yale University. The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) builds the capacity for school reform by conducting research that identifies what matters for student success and school improvement. Created in 1990, UChicago CCSR conducts research of high technical quality that can inform and assess policy and practice in the Chicago Public Schools. UChicago CCSR studies also have informed broader national movements in public education. UChicago CCSR encourages the use of research in policy action and improvement of practice but does not argue for particular policies or programs. Rather, UChicago CCSR helps to build capacity for school reform by identifying what matters for student success and school improvement, creating critical indicators to chart progress, and conducting theory-driven evaluation to identify how programs and policies are working.
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