Tail, Tusk, and Trunk: An Examination of What Different Metrics Reveal about Racial Disproportionality in School Discipline

63 Pages Posted: 3 Jun 2017 Last revised: 18 Feb 2019

See all articles by Erik James Girvan

Erik James Girvan

University of Oregon School of Law

Kent McIntosh

University of Oregon - College of Education

Keith Smolkowski

Oregon Research Institute

Date Written: April 4, 2018

Abstract

There are substantial racial disparities in school discipline but little agreement on how best to measure them. The choice of metric can influence fundamental conclusions about the magnitude of racial disproportionality and which interventions are likely to address it. To inform the choice of metrics, this study used discipline data from a national sample of schools (N = 4,512) to examine the strengths and weaknesses of two common (risk ratio, risk difference) and three relatively novel (standardized effect size, raw differential representation, and discipline rate) approaches to assessing racial disproportionality. The raw number of students-of-color differentially disciplined was the most stable metric and captured the widest range of information. None of the metrics captured all relevant aspects of disproportionate discipline. Researchers and policy makers should be as deliberate as possible about their specific aims in measuring disproportionality and carefully select metrics that provide the information most responsive to their goals.

Keywords: Equity, School Discipline, Disproportionality, Cultural Responsiveness, School Discipline, Disparate Impact

Suggested Citation

Girvan, Erik James and McIntosh, Kent and Smolkowski, Keith, Tail, Tusk, and Trunk: An Examination of What Different Metrics Reveal about Racial Disproportionality in School Discipline (April 4, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2979044 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2979044

Erik James Girvan (Contact Author)

University of Oregon School of Law ( email )

1515 Agate Street
Eugene, OR Oregon 97403
United States
541 346-8934 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://law.uoregon.edu/faculty/girvan/

Kent McIntosh

University of Oregon - College of Education ( email )

Corvallis, OR
United States

Keith Smolkowski

Oregon Research Institute ( email )

1776 Millrace Dr.
Eugene, OR 97403
United States
5414842123 (Phone)
5414841108 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.ori.org/

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