A summary of the report, “Which Schools Take Severe Disciplinary Actions? A Secondary Analysis of School Survey on Crime and Safety,” is posted by the News Bureau at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Large secondary schools that enroll high numbers of poor children are more likely than other schools to transfer, suspend, or expel troublemaking students, a recent study shows.
Motoko Akiba, a researcher from the University of Missouri- Columbia, analyzed national data from the 2000-01 school year on 2,270 elementary and secondary schools. On average, she found, schools took severe disciplinary measures against students 14 times a year, most often because students were involved in a fight or a physical attack or because of insubordination.
But, all other factors being equal, large, high-poverty secondary schools imposed eight more harsh punishments per school year than did smaller, more affluent schools.
