Student exposure to restorative practices improves standardized test performance and reduces suspension probability and duration¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Increasing exposure to restorative practices during the 5th-to-6th-grade transition improved ELA and math test performance and reduced suspension probability and days suspended. → Darling-Hammond 2023

Evidence¶

Darling-Hammond 2023¶

Darling-Hammond, S. (2023). Fostering belonging, transforming schools: The impact of restorative practices. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/169.703

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Large-scale observational analysis combining student survey data from more than 20,000 students in 485 middle schools with administrative data for approximately 2 million middle school students, tracking exposure over time with controls. The report states the analyses find "improved standardized test performance in both English language arts and mathematics" and reduced suspensions.

"increasing exposure to restorative practices during the transition from 5th to 6th grade improved standardized test performance in both English language arts and mathematics, reduced the probability of experiencing a suspension, and decreased the number of days suspended among students receiving suspension."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Restorative practices reduce exclusionary discipline and misbehavior and improve school climate, safety, and achievement, though implementation requires sustained investment — a broader claim this one bears on
• Academic benefits of restorative practice exposure are stronger for Black and Latino/a students than for White students, suggesting practices can reduce racial gaps — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Peer outcomes following a district suspension reform varied with school-level implementation — related
• In schools that did not fully implement the district-level suspension reform, peer math achievement declined and attendance decreased — related
• School culture changes during turnaround coincided with suspension rates falling from roughly one in four students suspended per year to zero suspensions — related
• Suspension is associated with lower test scores in the suspended years, with more suspended days related to larger decreases — related
• A suspension decreases math and reading achievement for suspended students — related
• Exclusionary discipline is ineffective at improving school safety and harms both suspended students and their non-suspended peers — related
• Schools that increased restorative practice utilization saw declines in misbehavior, gang membership, victimization, depressive symptoms, and substance abuse, and improvements in GPA and climate — related