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Reposted by Biraj Bisht

Paul Bruno @paul-bruno.com · 13/04/2026

Cultural Relevance at Scale: The Effects of an Ethnic Studies Expansion on Academic Outcomes journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3... "enrollment increased overall grade-point average...and reduced course failure...benefits extended to all student groups"

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Reposted by Biraj Bisht

Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

If any other intervention produced outcomes of this size - GPA improvements of .24SD & reductions in course failure of .14SD - districts would be desperate to implement it. Instead, because ethnic studies has been labeled as "woke," efforts to scale have slowed.

Cultural Relevance at Scale: The Effects of an Ethnic Studies Expansion on Academic Outcomes
Biraj Bishthttps://orcid.org/0009-0000-4008-04101, Sade Bonillahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0618-23302, Grace (Ha Eun) Kim3, and Emily K. Pennerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4649-351X4
Abstract
Ethnic studies is a culturally relevant curriculum designed to address the instructional needs of an increasingly diverse student population. However, evidence regarding the effectiveness of this curriculum at scale remains limited. This study evaluated the impact of districtwide implementation using a student-level difference-in-differences design with two-way fixed effects. We found that enrollment increased overall grade-point average by 0.17 points (0.24 SD), with the largest gains observed in math and science, and reduced course failure by 5.6 percentage points (0.14 SD). These benefits extended to all student groups, with stronger effects among academically vulnerable, male, Black and Latinx students and those with individualized education plans. Our findings suggest that well-implemented ethnic studies can be scaled effectively and can potentially reduce disparities in student outcomes.

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Reposted by Biraj Bisht

Emily Penner @emilykpenner.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Some good news: SFUSD's high school Ethnic Studies course has substantial academic benefits when implemented district-wide. New research by @birajbisht.bsky.social, Sade Bonilla, Grace Kim, and myself just out today in @aeraedresearch.bsky.social 🧵 doi.org/10.3102/0002...

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