Achievement Gap Receives Attention This Week

This week, the National Center for Education Statistics released The Nation’s Report Card: 2007 Trial Urban District Assessment in Mathematics. The report presents school-district-level results of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) Mathematics 2003, 2005, and 2007 assessments at grades 4 and 8 for 10 urban public-school districts, and it is a treasure trove of data. Among the data, unfortunately, is evidence that the achievement gap between white and minority students (particularly black and Latino) remains a significant challenge for educators.

If there is any fortunate news in this, it is that the data fueled discussion at the two-day Achievement Gap Summit in California. Hosted by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, the national event drew over 4,000 California educators (some from across the country) who gathered to hear from more than 125 leading education experts on ways to address and eliminate the racial and economic achievement gaps.

“We know every child has the ability to succeed academically, yet so many of our students are struggling in school,” said O'Connell. “As public school classrooms in California and across the nation become increasingly diverse, the most pernicious and challenging education issue of our time is the academic achievement gap. During this Summit, I am asking participants to speak out openly and courageously, to take an honest look at the reasons why this gap exists and to explore solutions for removing barriers to student success.”

The presentations and conversations were, indeed, very open and courageous because they tackled the issue of race head on – not socio-economic gaps, not trend line data and policy wonkery, but race as an element to address alone. According to state test score results, poor white students are still doing better than affluent Latino and black students, and that prompted Superintendent O'Connell into action. “We do have to look internally at our own philosophies, our own expectations and make sure we're challenging all students. We cannot have low expectations for any student or certainly for any group of students,” said O’Connell. The event sparked more questions than answers, no doubt, but the frank and open discussion was an important step in the right direction, a step that most public officials have not dared to take.

Resources:

The Nation’s Report Card: 2007 Trial Urban District Assessment in Mathematics (IES: NCES, November 2007), http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008452.
The California Department of Education, http://www.cde.ca.gov/.
Ana Tintocalis, “Education Officials Say Racism Sets Students up for Failure,” KPBS [CA], November 15, 2007, http://www.kpbs.org/news/local;id=10217
Author: DAD