Draft in process

Goal Statement

To decrease the differences in academic achievement among different socioeconomic groups

Policy/Program Options

Efforts to close the achievement gap seemed to be paying off in the 1970s and 80s as the gap narrowed, especially between African American and white students. Between 1970 and 1988, the African American/white achievement gap decreased substantially in reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, as well as high school graduation, college attendance, and college completion rates. Since 1988, however, the gap has been widening again. Minority students' achievement scores today are lower than minority students' scores were ten years ago. The reasons for this reversal are not clear, but the social and economic impact of the gap make it a severe national problem. ^[1]

How can we close the achievement gap?^[2]

Some of the work necessary to reduce the achievement gap is outside the control of schools and needs to be done on the national level-efforts to reduce poverty, for example. But there are some things that schools can do-and are doing-to raise achievement for all students. School efforts should be guided by research that suggests that the following factors can help narrow the achievement gap:

1. High expectations for all students. Teachers need to become more conscious of their own attitudes and behaviors, so that they don't unintentionally communicate low expectations for low-achieving students-by calling on them less frequently, for example, or giving them less time to answer questions.
2. Cultural congruence in instruction. When there is a good match between the student's knowledge base and the teacher's, as there usually is between white, middle-class students and their teachers, then achievement tends to be high. If teachers can find ways to structure their curriculums so they tap into their minority students' stores of knowledge, their achievement may improve dramatically.
3. Teaching strategies that promote meaningful participation. These include cooperative learning activities, as well as instructional approaches that are flexible enough to appeal to individual students' interests and abilities.
4. Smaller class size. Research has demonstrated that the positive effects of smaller K-3 classes are particularly strong for disadvantaged students.
5. Higher teacher quality. Many argue that the most important determinant of success for students is teacher quality, especially for at-risk students.
6. Summer enrichment programs. These programs operate on the idea that children from lower socio-economic environments lose ground over the summer in comparison to other students, contributing to lower cumulative achievement over many years of schooling.

Issue Briefs (local, state, national, global)

• Achievement Gap - USA
• Achievement Gap - New Jersey
  • Achievement Gap - Princeton, NJ 

Glossary of Terms

•   Achievement Gap : can be determined by comparing standardized test scores, grade point averages, and higher education completion and dropout rates of gender, racial, or socioeconomic groups ^[3]

• The disparities in achievement are often attributed to socioeconomic factors. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, of all children younger than 18 living in families, 27 percent of Hispanic children and 30 percent of black children live in poverty, compared with about 13 percent of white children (Proctor & Dalaker, 2002). According to data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, the average cognitive score of pre-kindergarten children in the highest socioeconomic bracket was significantly higher than the average score of students in the lowest socioeconomic bracket. The composition of these socioeconomic brackets was closely tied to race; 34 percent of black children and 29 percent of Hispanic children were in the lowest socioeconomic bracket, compared with just nine percent of white students (Lee and Burkam, 2002). Research has also shown that dropout rates tend to be higher for children who live in poverty. In 2000, young adults living in families with incomes in the lowest 20 percent of all family incomes were six times more likely than their peers from families in the top 20 percent of income distribution to drop out of high school (U.S. Department of Education, 2000c).^[4]

Bibliography

• Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll on the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools 
• Teach for America's analysis of the achievement gap
• Harlem Children's Zone study re closing the achievement gap in math: David Brooks Column in NYTimes 5/7/09