A Review of the Literature on the Impacts of No-Excuses Discipline

• In Event: Systems of Control: School Discipline Policies, Incarceration, and Peer Influences

Abstract

The urban education reform landscape is being transformed by the rapid spread of charter schools. Leading the way is a group of high-performing, no-excuses charter schools, represented by networks like KIPP, Achievement First, and Uncommon Schools. Although critics have raised concerns over these schools’ highly structured disciplinary practices, some have justified these practices on the basis that they increase student achievement. In this article, we provide the first review of literature on the impact of no-excuses disciplinary practices on various measures of student and organizational success. We find little evidence to support the connection between no-excuses disciplinary methods and academic measures of success, and some evidence that these methods may undermine non-academic measures, such as students’ social and behavioral skills.

Authors

• Joanne Golann, Vanderbilt University - Peabody College

• Chris Torres, Michigan State University