Missing the (Student Achievement) Forest for All the (Political) Trees: Empiricism and the Mexican American Studies Controversy in Tucson

Marx, R., Cabrera, N., Milem, J., & Jaquette, O. (2014). Missing the (Student Achievement) Forest for All the (Political) Trees: Empiricism and the Mexican American Studies Controversy in Tucson. American Education Research Journal, 1084-1118.


This study focused on the Mexican American Studies program that was implemented in the Tucson school district, and later dismantled.  The article focuses on the program's effectiveness in increasing student performance.  Many have found that when students are learning about topics that relate directly to their lives, they are validated and thus preform better in all academic areas.  This study had set out to find if this was a valid theory.

The study found that MAS students generally out-performed their non-MAS peers in the areas of AIMS test scores and graduation rates.  This was counter-intuitive, as many of these students had lower GPAs earlier in their high school career, and then excelled in their junior and senior years while taking the ethnic studies course, surpassing the students who had higher GPAs consistently throughout high school.  The evidence overwhelmingly supports the implementation of certain ethnic studies programs in schools with diverse student populations, especially underperforming students.

The findings move many to hold their own ethnic studies courses, similar to the Mexican American Studies class of interest.  This is a tricky undertaking, as many schools and instructors are not prepared to take on such classes that may include controversial and touchy topics.  Instructors need to be very well prepared to teach such a class and start with a small-scale plan.