Are We Moving the Needle on Racial Disproportionality? Measurement Challenges in Evaluating School Discipline Reform

Oct 15, 2026

The article addresses measurement challenges in evaluating racial disproportionality in school discipline reform. It reviews core issues in how discipline data are interpreted and analyzed, reframing conclusions based on initiatives aimed at reducing racial discipline disparities. The authors describe common and additional metrics for disproportionality outcomes and present a quasi-experimental case study using statewide policy reform, showing that different metrics yield different findings and conclusions. The work concludes with guiding principles for metric selection and use.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages37

Reading Time1 h 33 min

AccessFree to download

Key measurement challenges in evaluating discipline reform

Exclusionary discipline definitions and harms

Metrics for disproportionality outcomes

Quasi-experimental evaluation using statewide policy reform

Guiding principles for metric selection and use

American Educational Research Journal April 2023, Vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 293–329 DOI: 10.3102/00028312221140026 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions) 􀀂 2022 AERA. [https://journals.sagepub.com/home/aer](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/aer) Are We Moving the Needle on Racial Disproportionality? Measurement Challenges in Evaluating School Discipline Reform Jessika H. Bottiani Joseph M. Kush Heather L. McDaniel University of Virginia Elise T. Pas Johns Hopkins University Catherine P. Bradshaw University of Virginia Challenges in the measurement of racial disparities in school discipline area significant barrier to identifying policy and programmatic reforms that are effective at closing gaps. This article reviews key measurement issues and presents a set of empirical analyses as an illustrative case study. Specifically, we reframe the interpretation of discipline data in light of initiatives designed to reduce racial discipline disparities. We also characterize common metrics and recognize several additional ones for use in disciplinedisproportionality outcome evaluations. Leveraging a statewide policy reform as an example, we report findings from a quasi-experimental evaluation, which demonstrated that the various metrics can point to differing conclusions. We conclude with proposed guiding principles for the selection and use of discipline disproportionality metrics in evaluations. KEYWORDS: suspensions, discipline, gap, disproportionality, inequity, racism, measurement, multitiered systems of support, positive behavioral interventions and supports School discipline reform efforts and local levels in response to have gained traction at the federal, state, general recognition of the harmful effects of exclusionary discipline on students (Skiba & Losen, 2016) . Exclusionary discipline is the punitive removal of a student from the learning environment as a means of enforcing student compliance with school rules and behavioral expectations (Allman & Slate, 2011) . It often takes the form of office discipline referrals (removing students from the classroom; e.g., Anyon et al., 2018), inschool suspensions (placing students in alternative settings within the school; Bottiani et al. e.g., Cholewa et al., 2018), out-of-school suspensions (OSS; temporary school removal; e.g., Griffin et al., 2020), and expulsions (permanent school removal; e.g., Camacho & Krezmien, 2020) . Research has consistently shown this approach to managing discipline is ineffective and potentially harmful (American Psychological Association [APA], 2008), and that it is excessively used with minoritized students, including students with disabilities and students of Color (Camacho & Krezmien, 2019) . As such, exclusionary discipline has been critiqued for both mirroring and contributing to societal injustices (Gregory et al., 2021) . Despite evidence of harm and consistently differential impacts, exclusionary discipline is used at extraordinarily high rates in public schools, with some top-suspending districts suspending 45% to 62% of their entire JESSIKA H. BOTTIANI (@BottianiH) is a research assistant professor at the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development; P.O. Box 400281, Charlottesville, VA 22904; [email:](email: jhb9v@virginia.edu. Dr. Bottiani)[ jhb9v@virginia.edu](email: jhb9v@virginia.edu. Dr. Bottiani)[. Dr. Bottiani](email: jhb9v@virginia.edu. Dr. Bottiani)’s research focuses on equity-driven school climate intervention and effective use of culturally sustaining, relationship-building, and critically conscious classroom practices to foster emotionally safe relational spaces in the classroom, prevent excessive use of punitive and exclusionary discipline, and promote youth safety, wellbeing, and ultimately liberatory engagement in schools. JOSEPH M. KUSH (@_kushjoe) is an assistant professor in the Department of Graduate Psychology

FAQs

What is the main measurement problem the article focuses on?

It focuses on challenges in measuring and interpreting racial disproportionality in school discipline when evaluating reform efforts, including how metrics affect conclusions.

How does the article frame discipline data for reform evaluations?

It reframes interpretation of discipline data in light of initiatives intended to reduce racial discipline disparities.

What does the quasi-experimental case study show?

Using statewide policy reform as an example, it shows that different disproportionality metrics can point to differing conclusions about discipline reform effectiveness.

Oct 15, 2026

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