User:Egeg1234/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Zero-tolerance policies in schools

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
Project #2 topic. There were two Wiki articles we considered evaluating: Zero tolerance or Zero-tolerance policies in schools. We decided to choose the article which was more relevant to an education-centered/academic environment.

Evaluate the article
While the leading sentence of this article is strong and provides a concrete and concise definition of zero tolerance policies in an academic setting, the information which follows feels slightly out-of-order. In reference to the page's introductory paragraphs, the following sentences after the policy's definition introduces the public criticisms of zero tolerance policies; prior to explaining what zero tolerance policies aim to prevent (i.e., drug abuse and violence in schools). While the language of the article is written in a neutral tone, the content presented becomes seemingly "biased" by presenting the policy's criticisms early on. I would have preferred if the policy's criticisms were presented after the objective and history of the policy. This way readers have a baseline understanding of the zero tolerance policy and can formulate their own opinion before feeling swayed by any external critiques. The page does not present any concrete evidence that these policies reduce violence and drug abuse in schools and therefore does not offer tangible statistics; instead, focusing heavily on the history of the policy as well as "cases" in which zero tolerance policies were utilized in schools. The "case" section needs to be updated to reflect more recent examples; the latest being from April of 2019. Despite presenting the readers with information on "policy reform" and "alternatives to zero tolerance policies", the article also needs to be updated to reflect the disproportionate effects these policies have on students of color. There were no images presented, and all the links I clicked worked; ranging from a diverse swath of authors.