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Suspension linked to academic failure
Suspension linked to academic failure
By Mary Jane Rotheram, Ph.D.
August 18, 2011
Last month, the Council of State Governments Justice Center, in partnership with the Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M University, documented that more than half of all students in the State of Texas are suspended or expelled at least once between 7th and 12th grades (see the Justice Center’s report, Breaking Schools’ Rules, 7/11/11). Studying more than a million students for six years, the research team (Fabelo and colleagues) found that only 3% of the suspensions and expulsions were for breaking state-mandated regulations. There was high variability in how the schools applied disciplinary procedures, as well as variations based on students’ age, gender, and ethnicity. Students with multiple suspensions were far more likely to repeat grades and drop out of school. Some schools were able to implement different disciplinary strategies, with similar rates of achievement. The next generation of this research will focus on how to discipline students without excessive suspensions and expulsions.