The Role of Schools in the English Language Learner Achievement Gap
Students designated as English language learners (ELL) tend to go to public schools that have low standardized test scores.
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The Changing Racial and Ethnic Composition of U.S. Public Schools
The 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in June to strike down school desegregation plans in Seattle and Louisville has focused public attention on the degree of racial and ethnic integration in the nation’s 93,845 public schools.
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The Darwin Debate
Twenty years after a landmark Supreme Court decision, Americans are still fighting over the teaching of creationism and other alternatives to evolution in the nation’s schools.
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’No Child Left Behind’ Gets Mixed Grades
Summary of Findings As Congress prepares to debate reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, Americans express mixed views about the nation’s signature education law. Among those who have heard about the law, 34% say the law has made schools better; 26% say it has made schools worse; and 32% say it has had […]
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Twenty Years After a Landmark Supreme Court Decision, Americans Are Still Fighting About Evolution
by David Masci, Senior Research Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Twenty years ago, on June 19, 1987, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that dramatically reshaped the debate over teaching evolution in public schools. In Edwards v. Aguillard, the high court struck down a Louisiana law requiring that schools teach creation […]
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School Graduations, Religion and the Courts
Spring is the season for school graduations, and graduation ceremonies play a featured role in the national debate over the place of religion in public education. Is a clergyman’s benediction at a public school event a violation of the separation of church and state? Can students lead a prayer at their school commencement? In a […]
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Religion in the Public Schools
In a new series of occasional reports, “Religion and the Courts: The Pillars of Church-State Law,” the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life explores the complex, fluid relationship between government and religion. Among the issues to be examined are religion in public schools, displays of religious symbols on public property, conflicts concerning the free […]
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The Changing Landscape of American Public Education: New Students, New Schools
Since the mid-1990s, two trends have transformed the landscape of American public education: Enrollment has increased because of the growth of the Hispanic population, and the number of schools has also increased.
