Estimating the Impact of Expulsions, Suspensions, and Arrests on Average School Proficiency Rates in Ohio Using Fixed Effects

Abstract

Student removal became an increasingly utilized form of discipline since the implementation of zero-tolerance policies during the early 1990s. Evaluative studies have consistently found negative relationships between student removal and academic success. Majority of cases regarding student removal are for minor and non-violent offenses and literature in this field suggests that teachers’ biases and cultural misreadings widen racial disparities in school discipline and academic performance. Our study estimates the effects of suspensions, school-related arrests, and expulsions under zero-tolerance by exploiting within-school variation in school mean proficiency rates of Asian, Hispanic, Black, and White racial subgroups over a 3-year period. Our findings reaffirm consistent evidence that exclusionary policies have negative effects on academic outcomes. We also find evidence of differential effects by racial subgroup. The paper concludes with a discussion and policy implications.

Race, Geography, and School Choice Policy: A Critical Analysis of Detroit Students’ Suburban School Choices

“…To examine the levels of racial and socioeconomic segregation in exiters' schools, we summarized school demographics, including racial and socioeconomic composition. We also summarized math and English language arts test scores, school discipline rates (the number of suspensions per student), and stability rates (the percentage of students who remain at the school between nontransition years), as an incomplete set of factors that could be related to school quality (Lenhoff et al, 2020;Yaluma et al, 2021). We compared these characteristics of Detroit exiters' schools with the schools that suburban students attend, as well as to the Detroit exiters' choices in the city.…”

Potential Racial Threat on Student In-School Suspensions in Segregated U.S. Neighborhoods

“…Current studies on school discipline have largely examined out-of-school suspension due to the direct loss of learning that results from the physical removal of disruptive children from school (Wilkerson & Afacan, 2022;Yaluma et al, 2021). In-school suspension, which excludes disobedient students from classroom instruction for a short period of time but allows them to remain at school, has been comparatively understudied.…”

“…Due to this widespread implementation of school discipline policies, numerous studies have traced the existing trends in school disciplinary methods and examined their effects. Many of these studies have documented that exclusionary policies, such as in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension and expulsion, result in adverse consequences for students, such as a loss of learning, academic failure, dropouts, and eventual incarcerations (Morris & Perry, 2016;Mowen, 2017;Noltemeyer et al, 2015;Yaluma et al, 2021).…”

Association Between High-Need Education-Based Funding and School Suspension Rates for Autistic Students in New Zealand

“…However, to our knowledge, contemporary literature quantifying the risk of school exclusion (eg, suspensions) among autistic students is sparse and inconclusive. This lack of data is a concern because consistent evidence shows an association between school exclusion and poorer academic achievement . Early studies have shown that autistic students experienced similar or lower rates of suspension compared with their nonautistic peers; however, more recent studies have found higher rates of suspension among autistic students .…”

“…This lack of data is a concern because consistent evidence shows an association between school exclusion and poorer academic achievement. 11 Early studies have shown that autistic students experienced similar or lower rates of suspension compared with their nonautistic peers 12,13 ; however, more recent studies have found higher rates of suspension among autistic students. 14,15 Inconsistency of extant findings may be attributed to differences in data collection methods, variable sample sizes, and policy environments.…”