Yale study: African-American Pre-K students twice as likely to be expelled than Latino, white children

NEW HAVEN, CONN.

Pre-K students are expelled at a rate more than three times that of children in grades K-12, according to a primary study by researchers at Yale University on the rate of expulsion in pre-kindergarten programs serving three- and four-year-olds.

Led by Yale Child Study Center researcher Dr. Walter S. Gilliam, the study, titled "Pre-kindergartners Left Behind: Expulsion Rates in State Pre-kindergarten Systems," is based on data gathered in the National Pre-kindergarten Study (NPS). The paper reports on expulsion rates by program setting (public school, Head Start, private providers), gender and race/ethnicity. The pre-K report also presents expulsion data from all 40 states that fund pre-kindergarten programs.

The study found that although rates of expulsion vary widely among those 40 states, state expulsion rates for pre-kindergartners exceed those in K- 12 classes in all but three states. Pre-kindergarten expulsion rates vary by classroom setting. Expulsion rates are lowest in classrooms located in public schools and Head Start, and highest in faith-affiliated centers, for-profit childcare and other community-based settings. The lowest rates of expulsion were reported by teachers who had an ongoing, regular relationship with a behavioral consultant. In classrooms where the teacher had no access to a psychologist or psychiatrist, students were expelled about twice as frequently. The likelihood of expulsion decreases significantly with access to classroom-based behavioral consultants that provide teachers with assistance in behavior management.

"No one wants to hear about three- and four-year-olds being expelled from preschool, but it happens rather frequently," says Gilliam. "Pre-K teachers need access to the support staff they need to help manage classroom behavior problems. Without this support, we are setting up for failure both our children and their teachers."

The study found that four-year-olds were expelled at a rate about 1.5 times greater than three-year-olds. Boys were expelled at a rate over 4.5 times that of gifts. African-Americans attending state-funded pre-kindergarten were about twice as likely to be expelled as Latino and Caucasian children, and over five times as likely to be expelled as Asian-American children.

"Classroom-based behavioral consultation appears to be a promising method for reducing pre-kindergarten expulsion," says Gilliam. "When teachers reported having access to a behavioral consultant who was able to provide classroom-based strategies for dealing with challenging student behaviors, the likelihood of expulsion was nearly cut in half."

The NPS, completed by Gilliam and Crista M. Marchesseault of the Yale Child Study Center, is a comprehensive data collection effort across each of the nation's 52 state-funded pre-kindergarten programs, operating in the 40 states that fund pre-kindergarten. A random sample of 4,815 classrooms, or about 12 percent of the total, was selected. There was an 81 percent response to interviews with the lead teacher responsible for day-to-day operation of the sampled classroom. The NPS has an overall margin of error of less than two percent.

A policy brief that summarizes findings from the study was supported by the Foundation for Child Development, the A.L. Mailman Family Foundation, and the Schott Center for Public Education.

Additional material for the study is available online at www.fcd-us.org/news/embargoed. Available materials include the full report, policy brief and supplemental state pre-K expulsion fact sheets for the states funding pre-kindergarten.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Cox, Matthews & Associates
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group