Secondary suspension risk declined and the racial gap narrowed slightly since 2009-10, while elementary rates did not decline and some districts saw large increases¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associationalr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · checked against its sources 2026-10-17 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2025: baselines and conditions change
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? The Black secondary student suspension risk declined 6 percentage points since 2009-10, versus -5.4 for Latinx and -2.5 for White students, while elementary rates rose by less than half a percentage point. → Losen 2020
q2 i? Despite national declines, some large districts saw large increases in secondary suspension risk, e.g., Richmond City, GA (17 percentage points) and Trenton, NJ (15). → Losen 2020 (2)
Evidence¶
Losen 2020¶
Losen, D. J., & Martinez, P. (2020). Lost opportunities: How disparate school discipline continues to drive differences in the opportunity to learn. Learning Policy Institute; Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the Civil Rights Project, UCLA. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED608537
q2 · i? · associational · r2
Trend analysis of unduplicated student suspension rates (risk) from CRDC collections since 2009-10, quoting the printed percentage-point declines by race at the secondary level. Descriptive; no inferential test.
"the Black secondary student risk for suspension has declined 6 percentage points. That is slightly more than it has declined for Latinx students (-5.4) and over twice the decline for White secondary students (-2.5)."
Losen 2020 (2)¶
Losen, D. J., & Martinez, P. (2020). Lost opportunities: How disparate school discipline continues to drive differences in the opportunity to learn. Learning Policy Institute; Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the Civil Rights Project, UCLA. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED608537
q2 · i? · associational · r2
District trend analysis identifying the largest increases in secondary out-of-school suspension risk from 2011-12 to 2015-16, led by Richmond City, GA at 17 percentage points. The report also notes declines were not offset by increases in in-school suspensions.
"Secondary students in the following large districts experienced the greatest overall increase in their risk for out-of-school suspension: Richmond City, GA: 17 percentage points"
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- Age and Developmental Stage — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
- Race and Ethnicity — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
Related Claims¶
- Secondary students lose instruction due to out-of-school suspensions at more than five times the rate of elementary students (37 vs. 7 days per 100 enrolled) — related
- Black students are suspended at the highest rate of any racial group, at 12% in 2017–18, with persistent disparities across all years analyzed — related
- School climate improved in predominantly Black schools but declined in predominantly Latino and racially diverse schools as suspension use for severe infractions fell — related
- African American boys received out-of-school suspensions at five times the rate of white/Asian boys in CPS high schools in 2013-14 — related
- Student perceptions of safety and teacher perceptions of order improved in CPS high schools during the same period that OSS rates declined — related
- Out-of-school suspension decreased in 48 states and Washington, DC between 2011–12 and 2017–18, but in five states the decline came with an even larger increase in in-school suspensions — related
- Out-of-school suspension rates in CPS high schools declined each year from 24 percent in 2009-10 to 16 percent in 2013-14 — related
- Black secondary students lost 103 days of instruction per 100 enrolled, 82 more days than their White peers — related
- Secondary school students are suspended at more than three times the rate of elementary school students, and recent declines were concentrated in secondary schools — related
- In many large districts, secondary students lost more than a year of instruction per 100 enrolled, up to 416 days in Grand Rapids, MI — related
- National out-of-school suspension rates rose from 4% in 1973 to a peak of 7% in 2009–10, then fell to 5% by 2017–18 while remaining above 1970s levels — a broader claim this one bears on
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
suspension-trends-secondary-decline-elementary-flat |
title |
Secondary suspension risk declined and the racial gap narrowed slightly since 2009-10, while elementary rates did not decline and some districts saw large increases |
description |
Secondary suspension risk declined and the racial gap narrowed slightly since 2009-10, while elementary rates did not decline and some districts saw large increases |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2020 |
source_checked |
2026-10-17 |
recheck_by |
2025 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-10 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — losen-2020, losen-2020-2 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.