Blog

Achievement Gaps and Discipline Disparities—Five Questions to Ask

Among the two greatest challenges we face as we emerge from the pandemic are lagging academic achievement and student behavior. The pandemic harmed students in both areas, and we need to address them. However, the pandemic also exacerbated a long-standing, problematic relationship that is even more concerning today. For decades, we have been concerned about the existence of gaps between the achievement of groups with certain characteristics, especially students of color and Caucasian students. Meanwhile, we’ve attempted to address disparities in discipline incidents based on race for years. Yet, the two phenomena have typically been studied and addressed largely as separate, unrelated issues. Changes in academic performance have been viewed as instruction/curriculum/learning issues while disparities in discipline have been viewed as cultural/contextual/connectedness issues. Importantly, a recent study calls the approach of separating these two challenges into question. The study suggests that the connection between achievement gaps and discipline disparities is stronger than we have assumed. It also may be that working on one of the gaps can influence the other and that working on both types of gaps may have a larger beneficial impact on school success than previously understood. The researchers studied achievement gaps and discipline disparities using data from more than 2000 American school districts drawn from the Stanford Education Data Archive, a massive database of math and reading scores and racial achievement gaps, and federal civil rights data on school suspensions. The research was conducted by a team of researchers from several universities, led by a professor from Stanford University. The analysis focused on students in grade three through eight from the 2011-12 school year to 2013-2014. In general, the study found that students who attend schools in districts with large racial achievement gaps experienced higher suspension rates. However, the disparity was greatest for black students. For example, a widening of ten percent in reading and math achievement gaps between black and white students was accompanied by a 30 percent larger gap in suspension rates between black and white students, as compared to similar school districts. On the flip side, school districts with black/white suspension rate gaps ten percent wider than average, experienced black-white achievement gaps that were 17 percent wider. Importantly, this relationship between academic achievement gaps and discipline disparities held firm even when controlled for socio-economic, parent education, and other demographic characteristics. The study did not extend to causational factors driving the relationship between achievement gaps and discipline disparities. However, the result of the study suggests several important questions for us to consider and test in our own schools and districts. First, is it possible that when students are suspended from school that missed instruction and lost learning opportunities lead to lower academic performance? Logic suggests that this may be at least one factor. Obviously, finding alternatives to out-of-school suspension and maintaining learning and teaching continuity could reduce this impact. Second, might suspensions from school result in students feeling less connected in their relationships to school staff and fellow students? We know that a sense of belonging and being accepted are important factors in support of the willingness of students to take learning-related risks and practice learning persistence. Third, might some suspensions be the result of students feeling as though they cannot be successful in school? If students believe they cannot succeed, they sometimes choose to behave in ways that connect academic failure to misbehavior rather than unsuccessful learning efforts. High quality learning experiences, effective instruction, and appropriate supports can go a long way toward preventing students from facing such a choice. Fourth, are there negative perceptions embedded in the school culture about the ability of some groups of students to excel in academics? What we believe about the abilities of our students can make a big difference in what they believe about their own potential and our commitment to ensure that they succeed. Fifth and related, do we hold expectations and perceptions, whether higher or lower, about the behavior of some groups of students that lead to inequitable discipline? Behavior that may be outside of dominant cultural norms can sometimes become the basis for discipline even when the behavior is not threatening or disruptive to the school environment. Understanding and flexibility often can go a long way toward avoiding unnecessary disciplinary incidents and achieving equity. Obviously, the findings of this study raise many important questions. It is crucial that we review the experience of students in our schools and determine if these same conditions are present. If so, we have no time to waste in determining causes and designing strategies to achieve the academic and behavioral outcomes we need.

November 28, 2022

Prevent Bullying: Three Things That Don’t Work and Three That Do

Bullying has been a part of our culture for a very long time. In some cases, bullying has even been seen as a rite of passage, from rituals associated with hazing in fraternity and sorority societies and the gauntlet of joining an athletic team, to being a newly hired employee. Yet, the negative impact of bullying can be far reaching, especially for children and young people. Bullied students often underperform academically, suffer emotional distress, and can suffer from lack of self-confidence and depression for years. Meanwhile, children and young people who bully, too, can suffer from emotional issues, fail to develop important social skills, and can go on to engage in even more serious and destructive misbehaviors. Educators have been engaged in the prevention and elimination of bullying behavior for generations. However, recent studies that connect prolonged experiences with being bullied and violent actions against others, including school shootings, have brought new attention to the need to reduce, prevent, and deal with bullying behavior. Interestingly, some of the most popular programs and strategies to deal with bullying have little grounding in research and little impact on preventing and interrupting bullying behaviors. Here are three worth noting: First, several studies have documented reliance on zero tolerance policies and punishment of bullying behavior as largely ineffective in preventing bullying behaviors. In some cases, punishment can make bullying behavior less visible, but may do little to eliminate a culture of bullying. Second, peer mediation programs that place responsibility on students to work out bullying and related conflicts and behaviors have even shown to increase the number and severity of bullying behaviors. Bullying behaviors often rely on unequal power relationships; thus, victims can face an impossible challenge in trying to change the situation. Further, children and young people rarely have the maturity and skills to be successful in such a complex emotional situation. Third, programs and training to position bystanders to intervene work only if bystanders have higher social status, possess strong tendencies toward moral engagement, and are empathic extroverts. Most children and young people do not possess the courage, skills, and confidence to intervene effectively, especially when they anticipate that their engagement may shift the bullying to include them. So, what strategies can we use to decrease, prevent, and deal effectively with bullying behaviors? Here are three approaches to consider: First, we can focus our attention and efforts on ensuring that students feel they belong and are connected within the school and classrooms. When students experience stability and consistency in school and classes and feel they belong, they are less likely to disrupt and put their status in jeopardy. In addition, they tend to perform better academically. Second, we can pay attention to what researchers often call “entry” behaviors that signal and build into more serious and aggressive bullying behaviors. Like efforts to prevent serious crime, often dealing with smaller issues can prevent the need to respond to more serious bullying actions. Entry behaviors include:

Ignoring and excluding others.
Laughing cruelly and encouraging others to laugh at a target.

Eye rolling and prolonged staring.
Back turning.
Stalking and spying.
Giving disparaging nicknames.

Third, we can make social emotional learning elemental in building culture within the school and classroom, not just a component of the curriculum. Social emotional focused lessons and activities can be a start. But nurturing a caring, inclusive, emotionally safe environment can build a culture that makes mutual support and empathy integral to the learning experience of students. Rather than focusing on what we want to avoid, this approach builds counter attitudes, behaviors, and experiences to make bullying less attractive and acceptable within the culture. Of course, there may still be instances and situations in which bullying behaviors surface. Our best response is to address the situation early, to focus on teaching and coaching more socially acceptable behavior alternatives, and to keep the culture strong and positive.

November 03, 2022

Finding Success and Staying Sane with Difficult Students

The realization that we have one or more difficult students in our class raises our levels of anxiety and stress, tests our patience, distracts our attention, and challenges our skills. But this doesn’t have to be a source of worry and dread. Often, defiant, manipulative, or volatile students turn out to be bright, talented, and engaging. Though they can be frustrating one moment, they can be delightfully entertaining the next, and even sensitive and vulnerable the next moment. The progress and success these students will experience in coming months will likely be the result of how we view them, how we engage them, and how we nurture them. The perspectives we adopt, the choices we make, and the relationships we develop will have a powerful influence on what lies ahead. Each of these elements is within our control should we choose to employ it. Here are six perspectives and strategies you can adopt to make your work with your most challenging students successful while preserving your sanity. First, approach the situation as a valuable learning opportunity. You might ask, “What can this student teach me?” Become an observer and learner. The insights you gain and skills you develop will help you to become more successful with the student and prepare you to be even more successful with similar students in the future. Once you learn lessons, you’ll not have to relearn them. Plus, you’ll have additional strategies and approaches upon which to draw. Further, your engagement with and learning how to work with a difficult student can be more energizing when you see it as an investment rather than as a trial. Second, separate the student from their behavior. When you accept the student, even when they misbehave, it allows you to care for and even love them without accepting their behavior. You need to help the student feel your regard for them despite what they say or do, and over time position yourself as advocate and coach while they work to change their behavior. Third, understand that at some level the student truly believes the behavior works for them. Therefore, some students continue in unacceptable, even destructive behaviors despite consequences. Help students see and experience how changing their behavior leads to better results that serve their interests. Your challenge is to help them to see and develop alternative paths to meet their needs and achieve their goals. Only then will they consider abandoning their old behaviors. Fourth, recognize the skills supporting the students’ behavior. Many behaviors you find unacceptable depend on well-honed skills. With some imagination and creativity, they can redirect and reapply these skills in more acceptable ways. As examples, they can recast manipulation into the ability to influence and even sell. Defiant behaviors might be transformed into self-advocacy if supported by different strategies. Through talking with them and coaching them, they can learn to reframe and employ their skills in a positive direction. Fifth, commit to never purposefully embarrass or “corner” the student without a valid, face-saving choice. When you create these circumstances, you risk severing your relationship with them, and they might lash out more destructively. The resentment resulting from these experiences can last a lifetime, prohibiting you from ever reaching them. Rather, give the student choices. Provide opportunities for them to decide. Invite them to offer ideas and suggestions regarding how to resolve challenging situations. Sixth, emphasize the purpose and relevance of what you teach, while noticing and reinforcing the importance and value of the student’s efforts and strategies. When you ask students to learn a skill or study a topic, explain why the learning is important and share examples of how they benefit from what they learn. Reluctant and resistant learners often are more open and responsive when they understand the “why” behind what you ask of them. As the student engages, make it a point to notice where they concentrate their efforts and strategies. This allows you to provide encouragement and coaching for continued progress. Difficult students don’t make our work easy, but they provide surprising opportunities for us to grow and learn. They also offer some of the greatest occasions to make a lasting difference in the lives of young people who need us most. For more information and resources on managing behavior, check out our You Can Handle Them All… Courses Book App

September 23, 2022

A Powerful Progression of Learning Forces Waiting to be Tapped

We know the power of assorted forces, factors, attitudes, and understandings that support and drive learning. Our work becomes immeasurably daunting without them. We use these powerful features to stimulate interest, focus attention, instill hope for success, and sustain effort whenever we encounter difficult learning. Among the most common of these learning forces are a growth mindset, grit, curiosity, and passion. A growth mindset emboldens students to keep trying, employ multiple strategies, and adjust their efforts to achieve important learning goals. Grit sustains learners when they struggle or feel stuck. Curiosity powerfully drives new learning. Passion for a topic, skill, or other endeavor creates focus and commitment often more compelling than compliance to adults’ expectations and demands. These four forces, employed in progression, launch potent synergy for powerful learning. A growth mindset leads students to understand that learning and becoming proficient in an area of interest or passion is possible, despite temporary setbacks. A growth mindset helps students see that success can be within reach if they employ smart effort, tap effective strategies, and engage the resources available to them. An initial attempt that fails is nothing more than feedback regarding where more learning is needed. When learning is challenged, setbacks, missteps, and mistakes lurk. Despite high level interest and commitment, we need grit to persist and ultimately succeed. Learners need to remind themselves that successful learning can begin when they feel stuck. Grit carries learning through extremely difficult learning challenges. Angela Duckworth and other researchers observed that grit, so powerful, is more predicative of success over a lifetime than intellectual ability. Curiosity opens our minds to possibilities for exploration, questions to be answered, and mysteries to be solved. We can think of curiosity as a mental radar constantly exploring occurrences around the learner and what can be learned. A recent study reported in Pediatric Research found that learners from high poverty families who remain curious show academic gains at a level equal to their more economically advantaged classmates. Curiosity propels us to new interests and emerging passions that can drive learning to amazing levels. When we tap into the intense interests or passions students bring to their learning, we unleash what can be a nearly unstoppable force. Intrinsically driven learning can be nurtured, harnessed, and sustained without artificial rewards, prodding, or threat of negative consequences. However, learning driven by passion does not always come easy. Developing new skills, learning new content, and building new habits often require multiple attempts before attaining success. Learners need to understand that unsuccessful initial attempts invite us to adjust and try again. As noted earlier, these four forces—growth mindset, curiosity, grit, and passion—especially when harnessed as a progression, work to create nearly unstoppable learning power. Though effective on their own, when we want to create a powerful learning encounter, together they can be the fuel we need.

September 08, 2022

Begin the School Year with Advantage-Creating Mind Frames

We look for advantages when and where we can find them. Advantages can give us a head start and make success more likely. Advantages give us leverage to avoid wasting time and energy. Advantages are especially welcome when they do not mean that others must experience a disadvantage. So, starting the new year with advantages that help our students and us succeed can be welcome, especially during times like these. One of the most significant and impactful advantages we can gain as we begin a new year lies in how we think about and approach our work. How we position ourselves in our relationships with students will largely determine how they will respond. And the strategies we employ to help students learn will greatly influence their success. With this context in mind, let’s explore four mind frames that can give us and our students important advantages in the weeks and months ahead: Mind frame #1. Don’t focus on removing the challenges that lie ahead; prepare students to meet them. We might be tempted to lessen the challenges that students will face by giving them easier work or providing excessive support, but we risk devaluing the success they achieve and giving a false sense of accomplishment. Rather than making the road ahead easy, we can focus on developing the skills and confidence students will need to meet and succeed with the challenges they will face. We will not be able to lessen the challenges our students will experience once they leave us. Preparing our students to accomplish demanding tasks and succeed in difficult times is an advantage we can offer that will serve them well regardless of what their futures hold. Mind frame #2. Don’t protect students from every misstep and setback; help students learn from their mistakes. Mistakes can be frustrating and even painful. Of course, we do not want our students to suffer. However, in the context of learning, mistakes can offer powerful lessons that lead to growth. In fact, some of the most powerful and memorable learning our students will gain this year will be the result of their mistakes and missteps they experience. While we need to offer instruction and coaching that focuses students on what is important and prepares them to encounter new concepts and skills, we also need to allow them to make mistakes without shame, excessive penalties, and unnecessary risk, so that learning can result. Mind frame #3. Don’t force students to prove they are trustworthy; assume and treat them as though they are, and they will prove you are correct. What we assume about the character and intensions of others can have a determinative impact on how they respond. When students feel that we trust them and believe they will be positive, contributing members of the class community, they are far more likely to behave accordingly. Lengthy lists of rules and consequences for misbehavior risk communicating a lack of trust and can tempt some students to test us to confirm their suspicions. On the other hand, when we choose to trust, students are also likely to want to prove us correct. Meanwhile, should the behavior of students occasionally fall short of our expectations, we are more likely to see and treat the behavior as an aberration than confirmation that they are not trustworthy, and we will seek to correct rather than punish. Mind frame #4. Don’t ask students to convince you of their talents; look for what makes each one special. As a new group of students enters our class, we might take the position that they must prove themselves to us before we recognize their abilities and talents. Of course, some students who have the confidence of past success will respond. However, this approach risks missing some of the most important, latent talents that students possess and have the potential to develop. Conversely, if we adopt the mind frame that every student possesses talents and gifts and our challenge is to help each student discover and develop what makes them special, we set the stage for far more talent discovery, development, and demonstration. Importantly, even if we are not successful in completely discovering and developing the gifts of some students, we will have communicated to them that they are special, and we are confident they have potential that is yet to be fully recognized. We cannot control every aspect of our students’ learning, relationships, and growth in the year ahead. However, the mind frames we adopt and the advantages they offer can make important differences in crucial areas over which we have control. The best part is that these mind frames cost nothing but hold the promise of immeasurable value.

July 21, 2022

Six Mistakes to Avoid When Dealing With Misbehavior

Whenever students spend extended time near other students, within a structured environment where behavior expectations and parameters are present, there will be missteps and conflicts. The challenge for educators is to respond in ways that avoid escalation of the situation and minimize the probability of the behavior being repeated. Unfortunately, without thought and discipline on our part, what begins as minor to moderate misbehaviors can become major incidents requiring significant time and actions to restore calm and redirect attention toward learning. In many situations, how we respond to misbehavior can be as determinative in the outcome as the original behavior. Let’s consider six mistakes to avoid when we encounter behavior challenges. First, resist making and acting on assumptions. Every behavior we see has a context. Something led to the words or actions we heard or saw. Unless we know what motivated and stimulated the behavior, we risk making assumptions that are not correct. A classic example of this mistake can be found when sports officials observe and penalize a person who is responding to the actions of another player without seeing what happened first. The context for student misbehavior can be even more difficult to ascertain. What we see may even be the result of an incident at home or before a student entered our class. Unless we take time and try to understand what is behind the behavior, we risk taking the wrong action in response, leaving the student feeling mistreated and disrespected, and our relationship with the student in tatters. Time taken to understand what is behind misbehavior can be time well spent. Second, avoid confusing the student and the behavior. Almost any student will misbehave at some time. However, their misbehavior doesn’t make them a bad person. We need to be careful to focus on what the student did and why it’s unacceptable while continuing to value the student. Students will also occasionally fail to make this distinction, especially if the misbehavior led to an unfortunate outcome involving another person. We need to be clear and reassuring that what we are concerned about is the behavior and how to prevent its reoccurrence, not blaming or trying to “fix” the student. Behavior is what the student did, not who they are. Failure to make this distinction can lead to longer term resentments and perceptions that are harmful to the student and our relationship with them. Third, resist reacting to what happened and focus on responding to the behavior. We may feel the need to immediately act when we observe misbehavior. Of course, when personal safety is involved, we may not have the option of waiting to become involved. However, in most cases, the student’s interests and ours are best served if we take time to think and, if necessary, calm ourselves before responding. A deep breath and a moment of thought can often prevent us from saying or doing something we will later regret. A quick reaction risks us making promises we can’t keep and threatening consequences we can’t deliver. Fourth, avoid punishing mistakes and focus on teaching appropriate behavior. We may need to assign or allow consequences to follow misbehavior, but we need to be focused on helping the student learn and adjust their behavior. Our counsel and coaching may include behavior options from which the student can choose to accomplish their goals and meet their needs without engaging in behavior that is unacceptable. Little is gained if a student is punished without an understanding of how to avoid making the same mistake in the future. Fifth, resist using shame and embarrassment to change behavior. When we publicly shame a student or embarrass them in front of classmates and friends, we can be “sowing the seeds” of the next incident of misbehavior and conflict. Beyond the damage we may do to self-concept and self-confidence, many students feel that they must “repay” disrespect and humiliation to reestablish respect with peers. The result for us can be a bigger problem and more troubling incident than what we encountered with the initial misbehavior. Sixth, avoid taking student misbehavior personally. When we take personal offense or allow our ego to become involved, we risk losing our objectivity and responding in kind rather than with wisdom and restraint. As the adult and authority in the classroom, we need to be the stable, reasonable influence. When we abandon our professional stance, we also risk creating instability and fear among other members of the class. Finally, we need to avoid placing our relationship with the student in question. Our relationship should never be used as a bargaining chip. Without question, student misbehavior can present difficult challenges to our leadership and authority. However, we need to do everything we can to use the situation as a learning opportunity, to preserve safety and stability, and to maintain our professional position and respect.

June 06, 2022

Share Your Tips & Stories

Share your story and the tips you have for getting through this challenging time. It can remind a fellow school leader of something they forgot, or your example can make a difficult task much easier and allow them to get more done in less time. We may publish your comments.

Send Us An Email

An Approach to Discipline Worth Rethinking

Our goals when disciplining students are simple. We want the steps we take to result in improved behavior now and increased ability of our students to manage their behavior in the future. Unfortunately, the popularity of discipline approaches does not necessarily mean that they are aligned with these goals. In fact, one set of popular classroom discipline practices can generate unhelpful and even negative outcomes, including outcomes that work against our goals to modify behavior and prepare students for their futures. Such practices, often referred to as progressive consequences, behavior charts, or behavior management systems, risk teaching students unintended lessons and undermining development of self-regulation. They can even increase the misbehavior of some young people. These disciplinary systems typically include a process in which students begin the day at a desired or highest level of behavior on a publicly displayed chart. As the day unfolds, students progressively lose points, or move to a lower level (often designated by a color) each time they exhibit undesirable or unacceptable behavior, as determined by the teacher or another adult. The bet is that public shaming and increasing threats of consequences will encourage behavior compliance and discourage students from engaging in off-task and unacceptable behaviors. Ironically, this system works best for students who seek to please the teacher anyway; the students least likely to misbehave. For students who do not feel a strong connection with the classroom community, such shaming and threats hold little significance. For students who seek attention, this system offers a convenient and effective way to satisfy their need, even if it is in a negative context. For students who struggle to learn, the behavior charting system provides a roadmap for behavior that will distract attention away from their learning challenges and reduce the pain and embarrassment of having their struggles revealed. Meanwhile, these approaches teach students to comply with the expectations of others, not build an internal system of self-regulation. While compliance will continue to play a role in life success, learning to manage one’s behavior without constant reliance on the wishes, expectations, and consequential threats of those in authority is at least of equal importance. We can and should replace these practices with others that have shown more impact and effectiveness in changing behavior and building self-management skills. Here are ten actions to consider:

Get to know students and what motivates them.
Develop strong, caring relationships with students.
Build a strong, positive, inclusive classroom culture.
Provide timely, positive feedback and reinforcement for positive behavior.
Teach good decision-making skills and provide opportunities to practice them.
Coach students to develop and practice self-regulation.
Monitor student learning trajectories and intervene early when performance begins to slip.
Monitor stress levels in the classroom and provide opportunities to “de-stress” and help students to manage stress in their lives.
Give students meaningful input and choices about their learning and classroom operations.
Keep discipline discussions and actions private and out of public view.

We might find it convenient to present rules and behavior expectations and demand compliance. While in the short term we might be able to control student behavior, in the long term we risk missing an opportunity to build the capacity of our students to monitor and manage their own behavior, a skill closely associated with life success.

November 29, 2021

Avoid the Media Dunk Tank

The media regularly features pictures and short videos of the inside of schools and elsewhere that depict people engaging in behaviors or finding themselves in circumstances that appear counter to what is recommended by the CDC and other government entities. They may be pictures of students in crowded hallways, staff or students not wearing masks, examples of failure to practice good hand hygiene, or any number of other possibilities. The popularity of snapping and posting pictures and videos of unfolding situations means someone—a student, staff member, or other person— will likely find a situation they want to expose by recording and posting it. Of course, we may be unaware of the situation or conditions. Or, we may know about the situation and are working to address the problem. Or, we may even be experiencing a staged activity intended to embarrass or create controversy. Regardless, we can expect to immediately be confronted with pointed inquires and subjected to uncomfortable and often unfair assumptions. Before we find ourselves in these unfortunate circumstances, there are preparatory steps we can take to be ready and avoid unnecessary controversy. First, review current student behavior codes to ensure that they are free of restrictions that no longer apply or make sense, would unduly restrict students’ First Amendment rights, or that otherwise likely would not stand up to legal challenges. Language related to possession and use of electronic devices at school and during school hours might be an example. Second, identify elements or aspects of written student behavior expectations that are not consistently enforced. For example, if students are not to take and share photos of other students without their permission, do you and your staff regularly monitor and enforce this expectation? Is it even practical to determine whether all photos taken are with permission? Expectations that are stated but not enforced often carry little more weight than expectations that are not addressed. Third, identify behavior code elements that extend beyond the reach of the school and may not be legally enforceable. Often, expectations of students that extend into their personal lives and beyond the confines of the school and school day are challenging to enforce. Behavior codes associated with cocurricular and extracurricular programs may be exceptions, but it is wise to consult legal counsel to be certain. Fourth, review the expectations of staff relative to posting photos of students. Again, stated expectations are only useful if they are consistently enforced. Also, consider whether blanket permissions signed by parents for their children to be photographed extend to videos and photos that might convey images that are embarrassing or damaging to the reputation of the institution. Obviously, even with this preparation you may find yourself responding to inquiries and accusations related to an unfortunate image or video. Here too, there are considerations and cautions to observe. First, avoid panicking or reacting before you fully understand the situation and associated implications. If students are involved, be careful not to allow anger or embarrassment to push you to treat the situation as disciplinary and exacting consequences before the facts are known and implications are considered. Second, delay making a statement or taking other action until you have enough information to support your actions. Rather, commit to learning what you can regarding the circumstances and potential implications of what you have been presented. Further, commit to making the situation right, if what has been posted reveals circumstances or practices that need to be addressed. If you are not completely certain about the correct steps to take, consult those in your institution who might provide good advice, and contact legal counsel for guidance. Third, if you eventually determine that school rules were violated, you can take informed, measured actions that are consistent with stated and enforceable behavior expectations and avoid the necessity of having to “back track” on what has been said or done. Fourth, be prepared for pressure to take immediate action and “second guessing” once you decide a course of action. Both responses are predictable. What is most important is that you take measured, informed, fair actions that hold the most potential to address the situation and avoid placing people or the organization in compromising positions as a result of your words or actions.

August 17, 2020