Which states did best in racial learning gaps?
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009The states that placed an early emphasis on literacy skills. I’ll have a lot to say about that in my upcoming book. In fact, I profile a school in one of those states, Delaware.
Here’s what Kati Haycock from Education Trust has to say about yesterday’s data release on the gaps:
Leaders in Delaware put a serious statewide focus on literacy, initiating a strong accountability system tied to higher expectations for all students. To support those new demands, the state added reading specialists in schools to coach teachers and work with struggling students, and districts began using stronger curricular materials emphasizing vocabulary and writing. That intensive effort resulted in strong achievement gains in reading for both African-American and white students in grades 4 and 8, as well as a significant narrowing of the fourth-grade gap.
You’ll find the entire Education Trust analysis below:
STATEMENT FROM KATI HAYCOCK, PRESIDENT OF THE EDUCATION TRUST,
ON THE NEW NCES STUDY EXAMINING THE BLACK-WHITE ACHIEVEMENT GAP
WASHINGTON (July 14, 2009) - Today’s report from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that the hard work of educators and students has resulted in important progress. Achievement is rising for both African-American and white students and the gaps between them are narrowing. In fourth-grade math, for example, average performance for African-American students on the 2007 main NAEP assessment is higher than the average for white students in 1990.
But despite this improvement, we’re nowhere near where we need to be. Students in other countries still outperform students in the U.S., and while the black-white gaps in achievement are getting smaller, they remain woefully wide.
Skeptics often question whether our schools will ever be capable of closing those gaps, labeling them as “inevitable.” We think that is dead wrong. And we are not the only ones: The Obama administration has made clear that they believe - along with scores of educators and parents throughout the nation - that we absolutely can and must close them.
