COLLEGE PARK, MD (December, 2015) This October and November, the Maryland Equity Project (MEP) published three policy briefs on hot topics in Maryland education: declining college enrollment, teachers use of technology in the classroom, and changes in rates of out-of-school suspension.
In the first brief, MEP fellow Joseph Popovich poses a question vital to the future of the state and its university system: “Why Is the Number of College Freshman Declining in Maryland?”
Between 2009 and 2014, the number of full-time freshmen at Maryland’s colleges and universities decreased by nearly 14%, ending a trend of steady growth that had been observed since the mid-1990s. This turnaround is surprising because the number of Maryland public school graduates has remained stable in recent years. But the demographic composition of high school graduating classes has been steadily changing, with increasing numbers of minority and low-income students. The research indicates that college-going rates changed very little among Maryland’s most affluent populations and more of the shortfall is in students from low-income, minority areas. The overwhelming share of the downturn has been concentrated at community colleges, but the small downturn at public four-year campuses was concentrated in Maryland’s four historically black colleges and universities. These trends are very worrisome because, to a greater extent than most states, Maryland’s future social and economic well-being is tied to the success of its African American population, which accounts for a disproportionately high share of the enrollment downturn (44%).
Out-of-school suspensions have long been contested as a way to address disruptive behavior: while they allow a teacher to continue teaching other students in a class, they deprive the punished students of class time. Research suggests that out-of-school suspension can also lead to school disengagement, low graduation rates, increased dropout rates, and involvement with the criminal justice system. Since 2008, Maryland has made a concerted effort to reduce the use of suspension in its public schools, implementing a tiered system for dealing with student misbehavior that gives school administrators more options for dealing with disruptive students, rather than immediately resorting to suspensions. But as MEP research assistant Matthew Henry explains in “Out-of-School Suspension in Maryland Public Schools, 2008 - 2014,” while suspension rates have decreased in Maryland, racial disparities have increased – minorities have higher rates of suspension.
To gather data for the last policy brief, “The Teachers’ Voice: Using Technology in Maryland Public Schools,” researchers Bradley Quarles, June Ahn, and Gail Sunderman designed and administered a survey for K-12 teachers in Maryland, requesting information on how they use technology and how they believe they can better integrate technology into classroom practice. They found that teachers prioritize traditional tools, such as word processing and Internet searches, but while they are increasingly using a range of digital tools to support teaching and learning, they have yet to fully embrace newer mediums such as blended learning software and social media. Most crucially, most teachers are not satisfied with the quality or usefulness of the technology-related professional development they have received or the adequacy of technology tools at their schools. The researchers recommend that the state improve professional development opportunities and ensure that the tools schools already have are up-to-date and adequate to address educational demands.
Housed in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, the Maryland Equity Project seeks to improve education through research that supports an informed public policy debate on the quality and distribution of educational opportunities. It conducts, synthesizes, and distributes research on key educational issues in Maryland and facilitates collaboration between researchers and policymakers.
Dr. Gail Sunderman is Director of the Maryland Equity Project and Research Scientist in the College of Education. Her current research examines the development and implementation of education policy and the impact of policy on the educational opportunities of low-income and minority students. A former Fulbright scholar to Afghanistan, she received her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago.
Dr. Joseph Popovich recently retired from Morgan State University as Vice President for Planning and Information Technology. Much of his research while at Morgan State centered on the status of underserved populations and the role of historically black campuses in educating these populations. Previously, he was Director of Policy Research for the Maryland Higher Education Commission and its predecessor agency. He received his Ph.D. in Higher Education Planning and Policy from the University of Maryland.
Dr. June Ahn is an assistant professor in the College of Information Studies (iSchool) with a joint appointment in the College of Education's Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership. He is an affiliate faculty member of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab and a senior fellow of the Center for the Advanced Study of Communities and Information. He holds a Ph.D. in Urban Education Policy from the University of Southern California.
Matthew Henry is a graduate student at the School of Public Policy and a research assistant at the Maryland Equity Project, where he primarily studies racial disparities in access to education. As a criminal justice major at Old Dominion University, Matthew became aware of the link between academic achievement and involvement with the criminal justice system, particularly for those brought up in low-income environments. He was inspired to do advocacy work with the Public Housing Association of Residents, and later to assist in the expansion of Norfolk Public Library's literacy programs geared towards low-income households.
Bradley Quarles is a doctoral student in the Education Policy program in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership. Prior to returning to graduate school, he spent five years as a research assistant in the Workforce and Lifelong Learning Program at the American Institutes for Research, where his work focused on early childhood literacy and teacher quality. His research interests include the school-to-prison pipeline, minority and low-income student achievement, equity, and technology in education. Bradley received his B.A. in Sociology from Morehouse College.
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