CPR Research and Publications

“Alternative” high schools are meant to help struggling students catch up on credits, but they often function as dumping grounds that perpetuate inequality. 

The study, co-authored by Assistant Professor of Sociology Sean Drake, was published in Sociology of Education.

Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, associate professor of geography and the environment, has co-written a new book, Will Work For Food: Labor across the Food Chain (University of California Press, 2025). Minkoff-Zern and co-author Teresa Mares explore the often-overlooked role of labor in the food system, highlighting the exploitation faced by frontline workers from farms to restaurants.

“The Intergenerational Transmission of Food Insecurity: Do Educational Compromises Make Things Worse?” co-authored by Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in the Southern Economic Journal.

Findings by Amy Lutz, associate professor of sociology, and Ph.D. student Iwona B. Franczak, suggest changes to family and school routines caused by the war hindered academic performance and social–emotional well-being of some Ukrainian school-age refugees regardless of mothers' advantageous socio-economic backgrounds. Published in Sociological Forum.

“New Evidence on the Underrepresentation of Asian Americans in Leadership Positions,” authored by Assistant Professor of Economics Maria Zhu, was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

“Differences in Teachers' Assessments of Students by English Learner Status,” authored by Assistant Professor of Economics Maria Zhu, was published in AEA Papers and Proceedings. 

“Training future professors in public budgeting, finance, and financial management: The Inter-University Consortium for PhD courses,” co-authored by Yilin Hou, professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in the Journal of Public Affairs Education.

New research from CPR Associates on the “model minority” stereotype finds that teachers rate Asian students’ academic skills more favorably than White students. In addition, teachers respond to the presence of any Asian student in the classroom by widening Black-White and Hispanic-White assessment gaps.

Affirmative action is an effective race-conscious admissions policy that facilitates the socioeconomic achievement of Black and Latino students. Using data from 750 schools, this study finds that Black and Latino students are more likely to graduate from selective colleges than White students with similar socioeconomic backgrounds and educational experiences.

Children in low-income families who participate in food and income support programs (such as SNAP and TANF) have lower literacy skills in kindergarten than those who do not participate in these programs. 

"'Model minorities'" in the classroom? Positive evaluation bias towards Asian students and its consequences," co-authored by Ying Shi, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs, and Maria Zhu, assistant professor of economics, was published in the Journal of Public Economics.

"Inequality in Literacy Skills at Kindergarten Entry at the Intersections of Social Programs and Race," co-authored by public administration and international affairs professors Michah Rothbart and Colleen Heflin, was published in Children and Youth Services Review.

“Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges,” authored by Assistant Professor of Economics Maria Zhu, was published in the Journal of Human Resources.

In his new book, "Academic Apartheid: Race and the Criminalization of Failure in an American Suburb" (University of California Press, 2022), Sean J. Drake looks at how race and class intersect, contributing to educational inequality and modern school segregation.