Disproportionality, School Discipline and Academic Achievement

Chris BorgmeierPortland State University

Schools

Goals

• Document the role of discipline disproportionality at multiple levels: (a) referrals to the office, (b) administrative decisions once a student is in

the office.

• Describe a role for school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports Link discipline systems, academic achievement,

disproportionality

Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems• Likelihood of referral to the office

• Likelihood of a “consequence” that results in loss of educational minutes.

• NOTE: The single strongest predictor of academic gains is the number of minutes of effective academic engagement. Removing a student from school is a serious

decision.

Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems• Race is not Neutral:

Disproportionality in School DisciplineRussell Skiba, Robert H. Horner, Choong-Geun Chung Karega Rausch, , Seth L. May, and Tary Tobin

In press: Journal of School Psychology

• Analysis of office discipline referral data from the school-wide information system (SWIS) 436 elementary and middle schools 205,932 students who received office discipline referrals Referrals organized by student ethnicity, type of problem behavior,

and administrative decision.

Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems• First Finding: Students from Hispanic/Latino and

African American backgrounds were more likely to be sent to the office than their white peers.

• Logistic regression, odds ratios (1.0 = same ; >1.0 = more likely; < 1.0 = less likely)

Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems

Elementary Schools

Middle Schools

Hispanic/Latino .76 1.71

African American 2.19 3.79

Elementary Schools:Compare proportion of students enrolled to proportion of students with an ODR

His/Latino Af Am/ Blk White All Other0

10

20

30

40

50

60

% Enrol

% ODR

% Enrolled

% with an ODR

Middle Schools:Compare proportion of students enrolled to proportion of students with an ODR

His/Latino Af Am/ Blk White All Other0

10

20

30

40

50

60

% Enrol

% ODR

% Enrolled

% with an ODR

Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems• Second Finding: If students from

Hispanic/Latino or African American backgrounds were sent to the office, they were more likely than white students to receive a consequence that resulted in their being removed from school (suspension/expulsion)

• Odds Ratio for Consequence for all ODRs

Elementary Schools

Middle Schools

Latino/ Hispanic 1.52 1.58

African American 1.64 1.12

Elementary Schools:Likelihood of out of school suspension or expulsion compared to white students (1.0 = equal).

His/Latino Af Am/ Blk His/Latino Af Am/ Blk His/Latino Af Am/ BlkMinor Disruption Major

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Middle Schools:Likelihood of out of school suspension or expulsion compared to white students (1.0 = equal).

His/Latino Af Am/ Blk His/Latino Af Am/ Blk His/Latino Af Am/ BlkMinor Disruption Major

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Moving from defining the problem to defining solutions

• No simple fix. The issues of disproportionality likely lie in

multiple issues and deep societal challenges.

• Practical steps that schools can do to address discipline disproportionality. Establish a predictable, consistent, positive and

safe school-wide culture by teaching school-wide behavioral expectations

Collect and use discipline data disaggregated by ethnicity/race. (Report monthly or quarterly… not just annually)

Provide staff with the opportunity for orientation to the role of culture in discipline decision-making.

Teach with precision, intensity and effect Acknowledge appropriate behavior regularly

» Skiba et al., In press, Vincent et al., In press, Tobin & Vincent In press

Moving from defining the problem to defining solutions

Formal Research Support has yet to be documented for any of these strategies

PBIS and Discipline Disproportionality

• If schools adopt school-wide PBIS do they demonstrate improved performance for children at risk for discipline disproportionality?

Preliminary Evidence:When PBIS is linked to reduction in ODRs does reduction occur for students from all ethnic groups?

All Students Nat Asian Af Am Latino PacIs White0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Students with Major ODR/100 Students Enrolledn = 69 schools

200506

200607

200708

From: Vincent, Cartledge, May & Tobin, 2009

Main Messages:

1. Reduction in ODRs occurred for all ethnic groups

2. Racial disproportionality continued, however, just at a lower level of intensity.

Preliminary Evidence:When PBIS is linked to reduction in ODRs does reduction occur for students from all ethnic groups?

All Male AfrAm Male

Latino Male

White Male

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Male Students with Major ODR/100 Male Students Enrolled

n = 66 schools

200506

200607

All Female AfrAm Female

Latino Female

White Female

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Female Students with Major ODR/100 Female Students Enrolled

n = 66 schools

200506

200607

From: Vincent, Cartledge, May & Tobin, 2009

Preliminary Evidence:Illinois OSS for school using PBIS and beginning adoption

All AfrAm Hisp Other Non-W White0

5

10

15

20

25

Mean number of OSS per 100 students in IL Elem Schools (2007-2008)

Implementers (n = 152) Emerging Implementers (n = 31)

From: Eber et al., 2010 PBIS annual report

Schools using PBIS

Schools NOT using PBIS

Early Conclusion…

Nothing is inherently biased or culturally irrelevant about practices & systems of PBIS

implementation.

However, we definitely can improve kid outcomes by making enhancements that make those practices & systems more reflective of the

norms, expectations, & learning histories of kids, family & community members, & school

staff.

CULTURALY & CONTEXTUALLY

RELEVANT is used to describe & consider the

unique variables, characteristics, &

learning histories of students, educators, &

family & community members involved in the implementation of

SWPBS.

Major assumption is that effective

instructional practices & behavior &

classroom management strategies exist (Horner, Sugai, &

Anderson, 2010), & consideration must be

given to culture & context

Findings

QualitativeTotal Intervention

DescriptionReviews/ Current Issues

Case Studies

Other

21 9 8 2 2

QuantitativeTotal Records

ReviewsCase Studies Experimental

7 4 2 1

Literature Review Summary

SWPBS can be adapted easily to diverse schools & cultural norms

SWPBS promotes the most frequently recommended strategies from qualitative literature

More experimental research needed

General Guidelines

Consider educational & social validity of decisions & priorities from perspective of student, family, teacher, school, &

community

Teach, model, & acknowledge local expectations

Establish familiar, predictable, & consistent local context

Monitor progress continuously

Assess local behavior patterns, values, expectations, &norms

Adopt RtI perspective

Classroom Educator Guidelines

Use effective instructional practices & curricula

Learn, include, & use students’ culture & language in instruction & interactions

Teach social skills

Set explicit, realistic, high, & challenging expectations

Engage in equitable interactions

Decrease negative interactions

Increase positive interactions

Define from contextual perspective

Professional Development Guidelines

Use data to evaluate outcomes

View & involve parents as resources

Assess & consider their students’ cultures.

Self-assess or self-reflect cultural & contextual features & implications of their instructional & behavioral decisions

Adopt perspective that student behavior is culturally & contextually learned & influenced

Equity & PBIS

• Develop School-wide Expectations that fit local context

• Challenge School faculty/staff is often not representative of

the community How can we ensure that behavioral expectations

are representative of the community?

Team Membership

• Invite members of the community that represent the diversity to participate as PBIS team members

• Identify customs representing the diverse membership of the community that can be actively built into PBIS implementation SW Rules & Language Behavioral Expectations Acknowledgment System & Assemblies Responses to problem behavior & Consequences

Representative Behavioral Expectations

• Actively seek feedback and participation from community members that represent the diversity within the community

• Provide an avenue for community members to provide feedback re: behavioral expectations and whether they represent the culture of community members Hold events to seek feedback from community

members Send out expectations grids to seek feedback

Actively use Ethnicity Data for Decision Making

Use data regularly (monthly for whole faculty…. Weekly for team)

Let the data guide what questions to ask… do not expect data to provide the answers.

Always use the data for problem solving that leads to specific action plans.

Expect different solutions in different locations.

The Ethnicity Report is the least used report within the

School-wide Information System (SWIS)

Proportion of Referrals vs Enrollment By Ethnicity

Use data regularly (monthly for whole faculty…. Weekly for team)

Let the data guide what questions to ask… do not expect data to provide the answers.

Always use the data for problem solving that leads to specific action plans.

Expect different solutions in different locations.

The Ethnicity Report is the least used report within the School-

wide Information System (SWIS)

Examining

• Provide opportunities for teachers and administrators to examine their own potential biases related to research on disproportionality

Know yourself Know your students

Review your personal data• Referrals• Responses to problem behavior & likelihood to

engage/escalate