Instruction: Are Compensatory Education Students Shortchanged?

Overview & Synopsis

The instructional needs of compensatory education students are not being properly met. The ways in which compensatory education students are being instructionally shortchanged include the following: (1) compensatory education students may not be getting their fair share of district services; (2) compensatory education services are perhaps being used to supplant and not to supplement district services; and (3) certain instructional policies, attitudes, and practices may be hindering compensatory education students from benefitting through instruction. More research is needed to determine the following: (1) why some generally high achieving compensatory education schools have low achieving compensatory education programs; (2) why some generally high achieving compensatory education schools have high achieving compensatory education programs; (3) what are the instructional and other kinds of differentials between (1) and (2) above; (4) why some poorly achieving compensatory education schools have high achieving compensatory education programs; (5) why some nonachieving compensatory education schools have nonachieving compensatory education programs; and (6) what are the instructional and other kinds of differentials between (4) and (5) above. Sites in which research should be conducted are the following: (1) urban, suburban, and rural schools; (2) schools with different concentrations of Black, Hispanic, White and Asian students; and (3) schools with differing levels of poverty. A list of 38 references is included. (FMW)