ACHIEVEMENT AND ENROLLMENT STATUS OF SUSPENDED STUDENTS: Outcomes in a Large, Multicultural School District.

There have been Outcries in both the academic sector and in the popular press about the high and increasingly rising use of suspensions as a discipline measure. Among the negative consequences noted has been a detrimental impact on the academic achievement of suspended students. This article presents the results of longitudinal retrospective analyses on suspensions, achievement, and long-term enrollment status of students in a large, urban school district. The pre- and postsuspension reading achievements of suspended students were compared to those of a comparison group matched on grade, gender, race, participation in the free/reduced lunch program, and limited English proficiency. Findings indicated that suspended students had substantially lower presuspension achievement than did students in the comparison group, gained considerably less academically throughout 3 years with suspensions, and had high drop-out rates. All patterns were considerably more marked with increases in suspensions and with decreases in achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]