As an urban educator for the past decade, I firmly believe that closing the achievement gap between minority students and economically disadvantaged students and their White, Asian, and more affluent peers is the most serious issue we face. According to The National Center for Education Statistics, the achievement gap can been seen in a wide range of educational indicators, including test scores, graduation rates, grades, college entrance rates, and college completion rates. The bottom line is that economically disadvantaged and/or African-American or Hispanic students are not achieving at equal levels of their more affluent and White or Asian peers. This causes a series of problems with a domino effect.
So what can we do? We need to implement research-based best practices that clearly indicate the characteristics of successful schools capable of closing the achievement gap. According to a 2000 study by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, nine schools in this state served a high population of low-income and minority students who were able to make significant gains towards closing the achievement gap. In spite of the obstacles, these schools were able demonstrate academic success with all student groups. The schools in the study shared the following characteristics:
1) Strong Leadership: Administrators treat teachers as colleagues, diversity of teaching styles is allowed, and teachers are provided with sufficient materials and necessary training opportunities.
2) Focused Instruction: Schools focus on helping students master basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. District-wide pacing guides are used to assist in planning, and teachers makes use of thematic units.
3) Periodic Assessment and Data Disaggregation: The schools participated in district-wide testing every six or nine weeks in reading and mathematics. Test questions are correlated with state standards. This data is then analyzed and used to inform instructional decision.
4) Targeted Use of Technology: Technology resources are used to teach academic skills. Some schools specifically used computer-assisted instruction to help struggling students.
5) One-on-One Tutoring: For struggling students, individual tutoring sessions were scheduled during elective classes or after the regular school day.
6) Culture of Achievement: A positive atmosphere was achieved and maintained by communicating high expectations to teachers, students, and parents. Student accomplishments are celebrated with pep rallies, honor ceremonies, and/or material rewards such as trophies
(Source: Closing the Achievement Gap: Views from Nine Schools. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. July 2000)
So what can we do with this information to turn around failing schools across the nation?
We need to use learning time effectively by reducing class size so teachers can give students the personalized attention they deserve, reduce school size and create more small learning communities, align curriculum with rigorous standards (Common Core State Standards), make teacher quality a priority (attract AND retain and train the best teachers and raise salaries!), provide high-level instruction to ALL student (utilize higher order thinking questions and an engaging curriculum), utilize data to guide instruction (implement interim assessments and modify instruction based on the latest data) and finally involve parents as partners (go beyond PTA night) - show parents how to help their children and use technology-based programs to keep parents informed of their child's progress.
I don't propose to have an easy fix to this problem, but there are clearly defined mechanisms that can be put in place to improve the quality of education in this great nation. The National Association of Elementary School Principals and Educational Research Service in Arlington, Virgina published these recommendations in a report called Closing the Gap - Raising the Bar, Principals Respond. I strongly support these recommendations and I believe that rigorous accountability standards and high-stakes standardized testing are here to stay. All human beings have a right to a quality education and I believe that until this problem is fixed America will continue to be overshadowed and outperformed by our international peers in places such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Denmark, Germany and Sweden.
The long term solution to fixing America's economic and social problems are deeply connected to the improvement of our education system.
If we want to out-compete our international peers, we need to first look inside ourselves and fix the achievement gap that exists within our country.
