The impact of school suspensions on racial achievement gaps.

The Atlantic covers a study published last month by the Oxford University Press on the impact of school suspensions on the racial achievement gap.

The study—which was authored by Edward Morris, a sociologist at the University of Kentucky, and Brea Perry, a sociologist at Indiana University—concludes that school suspensions account for roughly one-fifth of the white-black achievement gap. “Particularly for African American students in our data, the unequal suspension rate is one of the most important factors hindering academic progress and maintaining the racial gap in achievement,” Morris and Berry write, describing discipline patterns as an example of “hidden inequality embedded within routine educational practices.” During the 2011-12 school year, black children accounted for 16 percent of the U.S. student population but 32 percent of the students suspended and 42 percent of those expelled, according to Education Department data ; nationwide, black students are suspended at roughly three times the rate as their white counterparts.

What's also fascinating (and worrying) is there is evidence that suspension has an impact on the achievement of the student body--even those who haven't been suspended.