| closing achievement gaps in education: Closing the Achievement Gap from an International Perspective Julia V. Clark, 2013-10-24 In a changing world that demands new skills, a vital concern of public education is the gap in academic performance between low- and high-achieving students. There is no excuse for the achievement gaps that persist among poor and minority students in schools today. All students can succeed at high levels, regardless of race, ethnicity and economic background. Several countries have successfully confronted inequities in achievement, demonstrating that any school can close achievement gaps regardless of the community they serve, and that all students can achieve at high levels when they are provided with the right opportunities. This book is about understanding what factors selected countries have applied to promote progress and what factors contribute to progress in the closing of achievement gaps. It is about creating opportunities for all students. Closing the Achievement Gap from an International Perspective: Transforming STEM for Effective Education is written in response to rising concern for the improvement of quality education – especially in mathematics and science – provided to all students. The contributors take a systematic view of the subject, beginning with a cross-national analysis of teacher qualifications and the achievement gap that spans 50 countries. The content of the book is organized in sections describing education around the globe: North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Individual chapters offer close-up analysis of efforts to close achievement gaps in the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, England, Turkey, China, South Africa and Australia among many others. The contributors provide information on the achievement gap in mathematics and science, review current research, and present strategies for fostering improvement and raising performance with a focus on school-related variables that adversely affect educational outcomes among poor and minority students. The authors of the various chapters looked at how students’ data correlated with classroom practices, teacher instruction and academic programming, as part of their efforts to measure student growth. Qualitative and quantitative data are provided to provide evidence not only of the problem, but also for the solution. The book concludes with a chapter on promoting equality and equity to shrink the achievement gap worldwide. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Closing the Achievement Gap Belinda Williams, 1996 Chapters in this book, based on the efforts of the Urban Education National Network Task Force, define the nature of obstacles to the academic performance of urban students and identify, validate, and disseminate a knowledge base of theory and practice to inform decision making about urban schools. The chapters are: (1) The Nature of the Achievement Gap: The Call for a Vision To Guide Change (Belinda Williams); (2) Bridging the Achievement Gap in Urban Schools: Reducing Educational Segregation and Advancing Resilience-Promoting Strategies (Margaret C. Wang and John A. Kovach); (3) Cultural Values in Learning and Education (Patricia Marks Greenfield, Catherine Raeff, and Blanca Quiroz); (4) Educating Teachers To Close the Achievement Gap: Issues of Pedagogy, Knowledge, and Teacher Preparation (Kenneth M. Zeichner); (5) Closing the Achievement Gap: Opportunity To Learn, Standards, and Assessment (Floraline Ingram Stevens); (6) Fostering Resiliency in Urban Schools (Bonnie Benard); (7) Teacher Engagement and Real Reform in Urban Schools (Karen Seashore Louis and BetsAnn Smith); and (8) A Social Vision for Urban Education: Focused, Comprehensive, and Integrated Change (Belinda Williams). An appendix lists the Regional Educational Laboratories. Most chapters contain references. (Contains one figure.) (SLD) |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Closing the Education Achievement Gaps for African American Males Theodore S. Ransaw, Richard Majors, 2016-04-01 Closing the Education Achievement Gaps for African American Males is a research-based tool to improve the schooling experience of African American males. Editors Theodore S. Ransaw and Richard Majors draw together a collection of writings that provide much-needed engagement with issues of gender and identity for black males, as well as those of culture, media, and technology, in the context of education. The distinguished and expert contributors whose work comprises this volume include an achievement-gap specialist for males of color, two psychologists, a math teacher, an electrical engineer, a former school principal, a social worker, and a former human rights commissioner. From black male learning styles to STEM, this book shows that issues pertaining to educational outcomes for black males are nuanced and complex but not unsolvable. With its combination of fresh new approaches to closing achievement gaps and up-to-date views on trends, this volume is an invaluable resource on vital contemporary social and educational issues that aims to improve learning, equity, and access for African American males. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Language Diversity, School Learning, and Closing Achievement Gaps National Research Council, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Center for Education, Committee on the Role of Language in School Learning: Implications for Closing the Achievement Gap, 2010-08-26 The Workshop on the Role of Language in School Learning: Implications for Closing the Achievement Gap was held to explore three questions: What is known about the conditions that affect language development? What are the effects of early language development on school achievement? What instructional approaches help students meet school demands for language and reading comprehension? Of particular interest was the degree to which group differences in school achievement might be attributed to language differences, and whether language-related instruction might help to close gaps in achievement by helping students cope with language-intensive subject matter especially after the 3rd grade. The workshop provided a forum for researchers and practitioners to review and discuss relevant research findings from varied perspectives. The disciplines and professions represented included: language development, child development, cognitive psychology, linguistics, reading, educationally disadvantaged student populations, literacy in content areas (math, science, social studies), and teacher education. The aim of the meeting was not to reach consensus or provide recommendations, but rather to offer expert insight into the issues that surround the study of language, academic learning, and achievement gaps, and to gather varied viewpoints on what available research findings might imply for future research and practice. This book summarizes and synthesizes two days of workshop presentations and discussion. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps Jaekyung Lee, 2016 Through the lens of interdisciplinary and systems perspectives, The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps offers an expert critical analysis of the underachievement problems plaguing the American education system today. By providing a blueprint to meet these challenges, Jaekyung Lee both evaluates and informs American educational policies with a new model of achievement for preschool through college-aged students. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Design in Five Nicole Dimich, 2014-09-11 Fully engage learners in your classroom. Discover how to create high-quality assessments using a five-phase design protocol. Explore types and traits of quality assessment, and learn how to develop assessments that are innovative, effective, and engaging. Evaluate whether your current assessments meet the design criteria, and discover how to use this process collaboratively with your team. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Closing the Opportunity Gap Prudence L. Carter, Kevin G. Welner, 2013-04-26 While the achievement gap has dominated policy discussions over the past two decades, relatively little attention has been paid to a gap even more at odds with American ideals: the opportunity gap. Opportunity and achievement, while inextricably connected, are very different goals. Every American will not go to college, but every American should be given a fair chance to be prepared for college. In communities across the U.S., children lack the crucial resources and opportunities, inside and outside of schools that they need if they are to reach their potential. Closing the Opportunity Gap offers accessible, research-based essays written by top experts who highlight the discrepancies that exist in our public schools, focusing on how policy decisions and life circumstances conspire to create the opportunity gap that leads inexorably to stark achievement gaps. They also describe sensible policies grounded in evidence that can restore and enhance opportunities. Moving beyond conventional academic discourse, Closing the Opportunity Gap will spark vital new conversations about what schools, parents, educators, and policymakers can and should do to give all children a fair chance to thrive. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Narrowing the Achievement Gap Thomas Timar, Julie Maxwell-Jolly, 2012 Closing persistent gaps in educational outcomes between different groups of students has been a central goal of educational policy for the past forty years. The commitment to close existing achievement gaps poses an unprecedented challenge to policy makers, school leaders, and teachers alike, since the causes of those gaps are multiple and complex. For that reason, no single set of policy prescriptions--no matter how well crafted and managed--is likely to be successful. While there is no ready road map for policy makers, the press for solutions is acute. The chapters examine the conditions--both in and out of school--that lead to achievement gaps. However, this book also explores measures for addressing these gaps--measures that, individually and in concert, will prove crucial to any meaningful effort to alleviate these profound disparities. School performance by black and Latino students has climbed markedly, by a full grade level, over the past two generations. Yet achievement disparities relative to whites have narrowed only slightly, perpetuating a grand canyon of a gap that divides America. This volume replays an instructive history--pinpointing what hasn't worked--and then carves a path forward to build schools that narrow disparities inside classrooms, showing how educators, families, and community activists are pulling together. Each chapter builds from hard evidence, not hopeful rhetoric. It's a must-read for those dedicated to uniting our society--an endeavor in which we all have a stake. -- Bruce Fuller, professor of education and public policy, University of California, Berkeley An important book by wise authors who have learned the hard way that federal policies to address underachievement in education are failing. Although no one can offer a quick fix for America's educational problems, this incisive book offers promising and realistic measures for helping children who are poor and often racially and linguistically isolated. The authors provide a thoughtful set of alternatives to failed federal policies that have not and cannot address the pernicious achievement gaps that endanger our democracy. -- David C. Berliner, Regents' Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University This book is essential reading for policy makers, researchers, and educators concerned with closing achievement gaps in American schools. It provides a novel examination of the issues and important, new directions for moving us forward. -- Amanda Datnow, professor of education, University of California, San Diego Thomas B. Timar is a professor and the executive director of the Center for Applied Policy in Education at the University of California, Davis, School of Education. Julie Maxell-Jolly is a senior researcher and the managing director of the Center for Applied Policy in Education at the University of California, Davis, School of Education. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Narrowing the Attainment Gap: A handbook for schools Daniel Sobel, 2018-01-25 The attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is one of the most insidious social injustices in the developed world. It is a significant factor in the growing inequality of our societies and persists across time and nations. For this reason, narrowing the gap is a top priority for governments and policymakers, and an issue that all schools must tackle. Written by a leading expert in the field of inclusion, Narrowing the Attainment Gap is designed to support school leaders in understanding and reducing the attainment gap in the context of their setting. Drawing on research and his own extensive experience in leading a team that has worked with over 1,000 schools, Daniel Sobel examines the real issues behind the attainment gap and the barriers schools face when trying to narrow it. The book provides a unique approach with hands-on, practical guidance to enable every school leader to develop their own bespoke solutions to meet the needs of their community. Case studies and examples illustrate how these interventions can be put into practice and the impact they can have, while template resources help schools demonstrate to stakeholders the change they are driving at an individual, cohort and whole-school level. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Closing the Education Achievement Gaps for African American Males Theodore S. Ransaw, Richard Majors, 2016-04-01 Closing the Education Achievement Gaps for African American Males is a research-based tool to improve the schooling experience of African American males. Editors Theodore S. Ransaw and Richard Majors draw together a collection of writings that provide much-needed engagement with issues of gender and identity for black males, as well as those of culture, media, and technology, in the context of education. The distinguished and expert contributors whose work comprises this volume include an achievement-gap specialist for males of color, two psychologists, a math teacher, an electrical engineer, a former school principal, a social worker, and a former human rights commissioner. From black male learning styles to STEM, this book shows that issues pertaining to educational outcomes for black males are nuanced and complex but not unsolvable. With its combination of fresh new approaches to closing achievement gaps and up-to-date views on trends, this volume is an invaluable resource on vital contemporary social and educational issues that aims to improve learning, equity, and access for African American males. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Toward Excellence with Equity Ronald F. Ferguson, 2007 For more than a decade, economist Ronald F. Ferguson has investigated the myriad factors that combine to create racial disparities in academic performance, ranging from school policies and practices to informal interactions between children and their parents and peers. Toward Excellence with Equity brings together Ferguson's most important articles and most recent thinking on these ideas. Taken together, these essays show that closing achievement gaps is more urgent today than ever before--and that dramatic success is possible. This book issues an urgent call to action to anyone concerned about the lagging success rates among minority children in American schools and the repercussions for our country's future. Ronald Ferguson not only surveys the bleak terrain surrounding the achievement gap, but provides all of us with a road map to reach higher ground. -- Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO, Harlem Children's Zone Toward Excellence with Equity is an important book written by one of the nation's foremost experts on education and economic development. Ronald Ferguson's pioneering work on black/white disparities in student skill levels and achievement-test scores has significant public policy implications. This book is a must-read for anyone concerned about narrowing the racial gap in educational attainment and earnings. -- William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor, Harvard University This book combines high-quality research, judicious insights, brilliant speculation, and common sense to set forth strategies to reduce the achievement gap dramatically. It is particularly compelling in calling for a comprehensive social movement that will not only transform schools but establish strong communities, effective parenting, and powerful peer cultures. -- Henry M. Levin, William H. Kilpatrick Professor of Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University Ferguson conducts an authoritative review to show that disparities in academic performance can be closed by strong parental engagement and by parents working in partnership with schools around a shared vision of success for their children. The reality is that educators can't do it alone. This highly intelligent book gives policymakers, educators, and parents essential tools for closing achievement gaps between high-performing and low-performing schools. -- Susan Zelman, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ohio Department of Education Toward Excellence with Equity is essential reading for any businessperson who cares about the well-being of children and the future quality of the American workforce. -- Bridgette Heller, Chairman of the Executive Leadership Council and Global President of Johnson & Johnson's Baby, Kids, and Wound-Care Division Ronald F. Ferguson is the faculty cochair and director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University and the founder and director of the Tripod Project for school improvement. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: The Achievement Gap in Reading Rosalind Horowitz, S. Jay Samuels, 2017-04-07 In this volume prominent scholars, experts in their respective fields and highly skilled in the research they conduct, address educational and reading research from varied perspectives and address what it will take to close the achievement gap—with specific attention to reading. The achievement gap is redefined as a level at which all groups can compete economically in our society and have the literacy tools and habits needed for a good life. Bringing valuable theoretical frameworks and in-depth analytical approaches to interpretation of data, the contributors examine factors that contribute to student achievement inside the school but which are also heavily influenced by out-of-school factors—such as poverty and economics, ethnicity and culture, family and community stratifications, and approaches to measurement of achievement. These out-of-school factors present possibilities for new policies and practice. The overarching theme is that achievement gaps in reading are complex and that multiple perspectives are necessary to address the problem. The breadth and depth of perspectives and content in this volume and its conceptualization of the achievement gap are a significant contribution to the field. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Closing the Education Achievement Gap Marvin H. Kosters, Brent D. Mast, 2003 In this book the authors summarize the evolution of policy under Title I, review previous evaluations of its effects on achievement, and present new evidence based on national data on math and reading test scores to assess recent experience under the program. The authors conclude that Title I has failed to produce any significant increase in test scores or to narrow achievement gaps between the scores of low- and high-income students and schools.--Jacket. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools Tyrone C. Howard, 2010-04-19 While race and culture remain important variables in how young people experience schools, they are often misunderstood by educators and school personnel. Building on three studies that investigated schools successful in closing the achievement gap, Tyrone Howard shows how adopting greater awareness and comprehensive understanding of race and culture can improve educational outcomes. Important reading for anyone who is genuinely committed to promoting educational equity and excellence for all children, this accessible book: Outlines the changing racial, ethnic, and cultural demographics in U.S. schools. Calls for educators to pay serious attention to how race and culture play out in school settings. Presents empirical data from schools that have improved achievement outcomes for racially and culturally diverse students. Focuses on ways in which educators can partner with parents and communities. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Equitable Education Sameena Choudry, 2021-05-17 Never has a book on social justice and equitable education been so relevant. Recent events have highlighted the huge attainment gaps that exist for many pupils within the education system because of factors outside of their control. As the diversity of the pupil population increases, it is more important than ever to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding within the teaching profession around issues of equality and inclusion. This book provides trainees and teachers with an in-depth understanding of the complex issues related to the attainment of key groups of disadvantaged pupils, and practical strategies that can be deployed to address these gaps. Chapters focus on social class, gender, English as an additional language, minority ethnic achievement, gypsy, Roma and travellers, refugee and asylum seekers, and those with special educational needs and disabilities. The book takes a stark look at the evidence and statistics, provides an overview of the key issues and considerations for each particular group, and suggests key resources and examples of good practice, along with case studies and points for reflection. Ultimately it encourages you to have high expectations of your pupils and to truly believe that you can help them realise their ambitions and aspirations. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Class and Schools Richard Rothstein, 2004 Contemporary public policy assumes that the achievement gap between black and white students could be closed if only schools would do a better job. According to Richard Rothstein, Closing the gaps between lower-class and middle-class children requires social and economic reform as well as school improvement. Unfortunately, the trend is to shift most of the burden to schools, as if they alone can eradicate poverty and inequality. In this book, Rothstein points the way toward social and economic reforms that would give all children a more equal chance to succeed in school. This book features: a summary of numerous studies linking school achievement to health care quality, nutrition, childrearing styles, housing stability, parental economic security, and more ; aA look at erroneous and misleading data that underlie commonplace claims that some schools beat the demographic odds and therefore any school can close the achievement gap if only it adopted proper practices. ; and an analysis of how the over-emphasis of standardized tests in federal law obscures the true achievement gap and makes narrowing it more difficult. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: The Educator's Handbook for Understanding and Closing Achievement Gaps Joseph Murphy, 2010 'Beginning with a remarkably comprehensive and accessible analysis of the gap's causes, the book offers a refreshingly balanced, evidence-based, state-of-the-art outline of productive solutions that should inform the work of all educational stakeholders' - Ken Leithwood, Professor, OISE/University of Toronto 'No one is better positioned than Joseph Murphy to provide lessons for education leaders on this important topic' - Andrew Porter, George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education , University of Pennsylvania 'For too long, the achievement gap has been proclaimed, discussed, and then dismissed as a subject of despair. Seldom has it been systematically defined, placed in historical perspective, or positively addressed. Through thorough scholarship, comprehensive knowledge, and creativity, this book fills that void' - James W. Guthrie, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Educational Leadership and Public Policy, Vanderbilt University 'While offering no simple pathway to progress, this book reminds us how much more we can do to close achievement gaps' - Michael S. Knapp, Director Center for the Study of Teaching & Policy, University of Washington Distinguished researcher Joseph F. Murphy has gathered and analyzed the most up-to-date research and data to help headteachers understand what the achievement gap is, why it persists, and what teachers can do about it. This comprehensive handbook: - Examines external factors that contribute to achievement gaps, such as socioeconomic status, family environment, racism, and individual differences - Covers internal factors such as instruction, school culture, and school support - Provides strategies for addressing both internal and external factors to make an impact. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Unfinished Business Pedro A. Noguera, Jean Yonemura Wing, 2008-08-18 In this groundbreaking book, co-editors Pedro Noguera and Jean Yonemura Wing, and their collaborators investigated the dynamics of race and achievement at Berkeley High School–a large public high school that the New York Times called the most integrated high school in America. Berkeley's diverse student population clearly illustrates the achievement gap phenomenon in our schools. Unfinished Business brings to light the hidden inequities of schools–where cultural attitudes, academic tracking, curricular access, and after-school activities serve as sorting mechanisms that set students on paths of success or failure. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Still Failing at Fairness David Sadker, Karen R. Zittleman, 2009-04-28 Despite decades of effort to create fair classrooms and schools, gender bias is alive and well, and in some ways growing. School practices continue to send boys and girls down different life paths, too often treating them not as different genders but as different species. Teachers and parents often miss the subtle signs of sexism in classrooms. Through firsthand observations and up-to-the-minute research, Still Failing at Fairness brings the gender issue into focus. The authors provide an in-depth account of how girls' and boys' educations are compromised from elementary school through college, and offer practical advice for teachers and parents who want to make a positive difference. The authors examine today's pressing issues -- the lack of enforcement for Title IX, the impact of the backlash against gender equity, the much-hyped boys' crisis, hardwired brain differences, and the recent growth of singlesex public schools. This book documents how teaching, current testing practices, and subtle cultural attitudes continue to short-circuit both girls and boys of every race, social class, and ethnicity. Hard-hitting and remarkably informative, Still Failing at Fairness is a fascinating look into America's classrooms (National Association of School Psychologists). |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Teaching As Leadership Teach For America, Steven Farr, 2010-02-02 A road map for teachers who strive to be highly effective leaders in our nation's classrooms Teach For America has fought the daunting battle of educational equity for the last twenty years. Based on evidence from classrooms across the country, they've discovered much about effective teaching practice, and distilled these findings into the six principles presented in this book. The Teaching As Leadership framework inspires teachers to: Set Big Goals; Invest Students and Their Families; Plan Purposefully; Execute Effectively; Continuously Increase Effectiveness; Work Relentlessly. The results are better educational outcomes for our nation's children, particularly those who live in low-income communities. Inspires educators to be leaders in their classrooms and schools Demystifies what it means to be an effective teacher, describes key elements of practice and provides a clear vision of success Addresses the challenges every teacher, in every classroom, faces on a daily basis An accompanying website includes a wealth of tools, videos, sample lessons, discussion boards, and case studies. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Professional Learning Communities at Work Richard DuFour, Robert E. Eaker, 1998 Provides specific information on how to transform schools into results-oriented professional learning communities, describing the best practices that have been used by schools nationwide. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Excellence Gaps in Education Jonathan A. Plucker, Scott J. Peters, 2020-01-15 2017 Texas Association for Gifted and Talented Legacy Scholar Book Award 2017 National Association of Gifted Children Scholar Book of the Year Award In Excellence Gaps in Education, Jonathan A. Plucker and Scott J. Peters shine a spotlight on “excellence gaps”—the achievement gaps among subgroups of students performing at the highest levels of achievement. Much of the focus of recent education reform has been on closing gaps in achievement between students from different racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic backgrounds by bringing all students up to minimum levels of proficiency. Yet issues related to excellence gaps have been largely absent from discussions about how to improve our schools and communities. Plucker and Peters argue that these significant gaps reflect the existence of a persistent talent underclass in the United States among African American, Hispanic, Native American, and poor students, resulting in an incalculable loss of potential among our fastest growing populations. Drawing on the latest research and a wide range of national and international data, the authors outline the scope of the problem and make the case that excellence gaps should be targeted for elimination. They identify promising interventions for talent development already underway in schools and provide a detailed review of potential strategies, including universal screening, flexible grouping, targeted programs, and psychosocial interventions. Excellence Gaps in Education has the potential for changing our national conversation about equity and excellence and bringing fresh attention to the needs of high-potential students from underrepresented backgrounds. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Learning by Doing Richard DuFour, Rebecca Burnette DuFour, Robert E. Eaker, Thomas W. Many, Mike William Mattos, 2020 In the third edition of Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work®, authors Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, Thomas W. Many, and Mike Mattos provide educators with a comprehensive, bestselling guide to transforming their schools into professional learning communities (PLCs). In this revised version, contributor and Canadian educator Karen Power has adapted the third edition for Canadian educators, emphasizing how Canadian educators can effectively improve learning for each student across their unique and widely diverse provinces and territories. Rewritten so that the scenarios, research, and language appropriately meet the needs of Canadian educators, this version is packed with real-world strategies and advice that will assist readers in transforming their school or district into a successful PLC. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Learning First! Carolyn J. Kelley, James J. Shaw, 2009-08-11 With the spotlight on schools and the achievement of subgroups of students, educators need to read this book and reflect on the guiding questions. Then we need to take the challenge and do what we know is right so we are doubling student performance and closing achievement gaps. —Leslie Standerfer, Principal Estrella Foothills High School, Goodyear, AZ This text is the product of considerable research and disciplined reflection on closing the student achievement gap in schools, unquestionably the most important challenge facing schools. The book offers a wealth of well-illustrated advice about how to address this challenge and should be required reading for every principal and superintendent. —Kenneth Leithwood, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto The keys to closing achievement gaps from principals who have been there! What does it take to reach across cultural and socioeconomic barriers to bridge student achievement gaps? Drawing on five years of nationwide research, the authors present Learning First, an integrated schoolwide framework of collaborative leadership that helps school leaders advance learning for all students. Using case examples that illustrate how Learning First works in action and providing worksheets, checklists, and rubrics to support implementation, the book shows principals how to apply this field-tested model to four critical dimensions of leadership: Advancing equity and excellence in student learning Developing teachers′ instructional capacity Managing and aligning resources Building and engaging community Learning First! offers an approach that strengthens principals′ leadership skills, delineates shared goals for professional communities, and helps educators keep their eyes on the prize—closing the achievement gap in their schools. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: The Global Achievement Gap Tony Wagner, 2014-03-11 Despite the best efforts of educators, our nation's schools are dangerously obsolete. Instead of teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, we are asking them to memorize facts for multiple choice tests. This problem isn't limited to low-income school districts: even our top schools aren't teaching or testing the skills that matter most in the global knowledge economy. Our teens leave school equipped to work only in the kinds of jobs that are fast disappearing from the American economy. Meanwhile, young adults in India and China are competing with our students for the most sought-after careers around the world. Education expert Tony Wagner has conducted scores of interviews with business leaders and observed hundreds of classes in some of the nation's most highly regarded public schools. He discovered a profound disconnect between what potential employers are looking for in young people today (critical thinking skills, creativity, and effective communication) and what our schools are providing (passive learning environments and uninspired lesson plans that focus on test preparation and reward memorization). He explains how every American can work to overhaul our education system, and he shows us examples of dramatically different schools that teach all students new skills. In addition, through interviews with college graduates and people who work with them, Wagner discovers how teachers, parents, and employers can motivate the &net; generation to excellence. An education manifesto for the twenty-first century, The Global Achievement Gap is provocative and inspiring. It is essential reading for parents, educators, business leaders, policy-makers, and anyone interested in seeing our young people succeed as employees and citizens. For additional information about the author and the book, please go to www.schoolchange.org |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Making Summer Count Jennifer Sloan McCombs, Catherine H. Augustine, Heather L. Schwartz, 2011 Students typically lose knowledge and skills during the summer, particularly low-income students. Districts and private providers can benefit from the evidence on summer programming to maximize program effectiveness, quality, reach, and funding. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Transforming School Culture Anthony Muhammad, 2009-11-01 Busy administrators will appreciate this quick read packed with immediate, accessible strategies. This book provides the framework for understanding dynamic relationships within a school culture and ensuring a positive environment that supports the changes necessary to improve learning for all students. The author explores many aspects of human behavior, social conditions, and history to reveal best practices for building healthy school cultures. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Teaching to Close the Achievement Gap for Students of Color Theodore S. Ransaw, Richard Majors, 2020-10-08 This volume highlights approaches to closing the achievement gap for students of color across K-12 and post-secondary schooling. It uniquely examines factors outside the classroom to consider how these influence student identity and academic performance. Teaching to Close the Achievement Gap for Students of Color offers wide-ranging chapters that explore non-curricular issues including trauma, family background, restorative justice, refugee experiences, and sport as determinants of student and teacher experiences in the classroom. Through rigorous empirical and theoretical engagement, chapters identify culturally responsive strategies for supporting students as they navigate formal and informal educational opportunities and overcome intersectional barriers to success. In particular, chapters highlight how these approaches can be nurtured through teacher education, effective educational leadership, and engagement across the wider community. This insightful collection will be of interest to researchers, scholars, and post-graduate students in the fields of teacher education, sociology of education, and educational leadership. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Teaching the New Basic Skills Richard J. Murnane, Frank Levy, 1996-09-04 By telling stories of real people in real businesses and real schools, the book shows the skills students need to get decent jobs and how schools can change to teach those skills.. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Despite the Best Intentions Amanda E. Lewis, John B. Diamond, 2015 A rich and disturbing portrait of the achievement gap that persists more than fifty years after the formal dismantling of segregation. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: The Black-White Test Score Gap Christopher Jencks, Meredith Phillips, 2011-01-01 The test score gap between blacks and whites—on vocabulary, reading, and math tests, as well as on tests that claim to measure scholastic aptitude and intelligence--is large enough to have far-reaching social and economic consequences. In their introduction to this book, Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips argue that eliminating the disparity would dramatically reduce economic and educational inequality between blacks and whites. Indeed, they think that closing the gap would do more to promote racial equality than any other strategy now under serious discussion. The book offers a comprehensive look at the factors that contribute to the test score gap and discusses options for substantially reducing it. Although significant attempts have been made over the past three decades to shrink the test score gap, including increased funding for predominantly black schools, desegregation of southern schools, and programs to alleviate poverty, the median black American still scores below 75 percent of American whites on most standardized tests. The book brings together recent evidence on some of the most controversial and puzzling aspects of the test score debate, including the role of test bias, heredity, and family background. It also looks at how and why the gap has changed over the past generation, reviews the educational, psychological, and cultural explanations for the gap, and analyzes its educational and economic consequences. The authors demonstrate that traditional explanations account for only a small part of the black-white test score gap. They argue that this is partly because traditional explanations have put too much emphasis on racial disparities in economic resources, both in homes and in schools, and on demographic factors like family structure. They say that successful theories will put more emphasis on psychological and cultural factors, such as the way black and white parents teach their children to deal with things they do not know or understand, and the way black and white children respond to the same classroom experiences. Finally, they call for large-scale experiments to determine the effects of schools' racial mix, class size, ability grouping, and other policies. In addition to the editors, the contributors include Claude Steele, Ronald Ferguson, William G. Bowen, Philip Cook, and William Julius Wilson. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Closing the Achievement Gap Samuel C. Stringfield, 2004-04 Closing the Achievement Gap is made up of six articles. The first paper examines Cleveland's restructuring initiative in light of two theories on early adolescent development: person-in-environment theory and the focal theory of change. This is followed by a study that illustrates the difference in academic performance between low-income children and their peers, minority children and their classmates, and those schools that serve a majority of children from low-income families and those that serve a more advantaged population. The third article summarizes key findings of a study that examined the reform efforts of three large urban school districts and a portion of a fourth that had been successful in improving student achievement and reducing racial achievement gaps. It also discusses the implications for research and technical assistance. Next, survey data on 15,800 high school students from three urban school districts is used to investigate the impact of school-level support for higher educational attainment and school racial composition on students' actual educational aspirations. The final article explores whether reading books during summer vacation improves fall reading proficiency and whether access to books increases the volume of summer reading. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Affirmative Development Edmund W. Gordon, Beatrice L. Bridglall, 2007 Affirmative Development makes the case theoretically for deliberate intervention to develop academic ability for students not naturally disposed to develop such ability by the conditions under which they live. The book includes discussions of intellective competence and intellective character as products of the development of academic ability and reviews of the research evidence for the feasibility and morality of such action. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Charter High Schools , 2006 |
| closing achievement gaps in education: A Practice-based Model of STEM Teaching Alpaslan Sahin, 2015-07-21 The STEM Students on the Stage (SOS)TM model was developed by Harmony Public Schools with the goal of teaching rigorous content in an engaging, fun and effective way. In this book, you will learn that the STEM SOS model is not only helping students learn STEM content and develop 21st-century skills, but also helping teachers improve their classroom climate through increased student-teacher communication and a reduction in classroom management issues. There are at least two ways in which this book is innovative. First, you will find student videos and websites associated with QR codes; readers can use their QR readers to watch student videos related to the content in the chapter and see student e-portfolio samples at their Google sites. This provides the opportunity to see that what is discussed in the book actually happened. Second, the book is not about a theory; it is an actual implemented model that has evolved through the years and has been used in more than 25 schools since 2012. Every year, the model continues to be improved to increase its rigor and ease of implementation for both teachers and students. In addition to using the book as a classroom teacher resource and guide, it can also be used as a textbook in advanced graduate level curriculum and instruction, educational leadership, and STEM education programs. Therefore, STEM educators, leaders, pre-service and in-service teachers and graduate students will all benefit from reading this book. Appendices will be one of the favorite aspects of this book for teachers who are constantly looking for ready-to-use student and teacher handouts and activities. Full handouts, including formative and summative assessments materials and grading rubrics, will provide an opportunity for teachers and curriculum directors to understand the ideas and secrets behind the STEM SOS model. Lastly, STEM directors will find this to be one of the best STEM teaching model examples on the market because the model has fully accessible student and teacher handouts, assessment materials, rubrics and hundreds of student products (e-portfolios including video presentations and project brochures) online. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: The Educator's Handbook for Understanding and Closing Achievement Gaps Joseph Murphy, 2009-11-13 Synthesizes the most current research to help school leaders understand the achievement gap and provides strategies to address the external society factors and internal school factors that contribute to this issue. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Cultural Proficiency Randall B. Lindsey, Kikanza Nuri Robins, Raymond D. Terrell, 2009-06-24 This powerful third edition offers fresh approaches that enable school leaders to engage in effective interactions with students, educators, and the communities they serve. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: The Summer Slide Karl Alexander, Sarah Pitcock, Matthew C. Boulay, 2016 This book is an authoritative examination of summer learning loss, featuring original contributions by scholars and practitioners at the forefront of the movement to understand—and stem—the “summer slide.” The contributors provide an up-to-date account of what research has to say about summer learning loss, the conditions in low-income children’s homes and communities that impede learning over the summer months, and best practices in summer programming with lessons on how to strengthen program evaluations. The authors also show how information on program costs can be combined with student outcome data to inform future planning and establish program cost-effectiveness. This book will help policymakers, school administrators, and teachers in their efforts to close academic achievement gaps and improve outcomes for all students. Book Features: Empirical research on summer learning loss and efforts to counteract it. Original contributions by leading authorities. Practical guidance on best practices for implementing and evaluating strong summer programs. Recommendations for using program evaluations more effectively to inform policy. Contributors: Emily Ackman, Allison Atteberry, Catherine Augustine, Janice Aurini, Amy Bohnert, Geoffrey D. Borman, Claudia Buchmann, Judy B. Cheatham, Barbara Condliffe, Dennis J. Condron, Scott Davies, Douglas Downey, Ean Fonseca, Linda Goetze, Kathryn Grant, Amy Heard, Michelle K. Hosp, James S. Kim, Heather Marshall, Jennifer McCombs, Andrew McEachin, Dorothy McLeod, Joseph J. Merry, Emily Milne, Aaron M. Pallas, Sarah Pitcock, Alex Schmidt, Marc L. Stein, Paul von Hippel, Thomas G. White, Doris Terry Williams, Nicole Zarrett “A comprehensive look at what’s known about summer’s impact on learning and achievement. It is a wake-up call to policymakers and educators alike” —Jane Stoddard Williams, Chair, Horizons National “Provides the reader with everything they didn’t know about summer learning loss and also provides information on everything we do know about eliminating summer learning loss. Do your school a favor and read this book and then act upon what you have learned.” —Richard Allington, University of Tennessee |
| closing achievement gaps in education: School Counseling to Close the Achievement Gap Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, 2007-06-27 School counsellors can play a powerful role in closing the achievement gap by incorporating principles of social justice - that is, equity and advocacy for all students - into their practice. This new resource for pre-service and in-service counsellors addresses the reasons why some students are more likely to encounter academic failure (racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism), and challenges readers to play an active role in bringing about the conditions for student success. Offering a variety of vignettes, strategies, activities, and reflective individual and group study questions, the book provides the framework for how school counsellors can mitigate the impact of negative factors hampering academic performance and healthy development. The book details six functions of a school counsellors that move schools toward more just practices and, ultimately, to higher test scores and increased student achievement. |
| closing achievement gaps in education: Mastery Learning: Theory and Practice Peter W. Airasian, 1971 |
SCHOOL-BASED STRATEGIES FOR NARROWING THE …
In the following report, Hanover Research summarizes the empirical research on school-based strategies for closing the achievement gap, specifically in terms of core subject achievement, …
Closing the Achievement Gap Means Transformation - ed
As intended, the findings may contribute to the closing of achievement gaps identified by socioeconomic status and race, and potentially lead to increased high school graduation and …
Helping Teachers Close The Achievement Gap - U.S.
Teachers are the key to improving student performance and closing achievement gaps. Good teachers have helped students make great progress toward becoming proficient in reading and …
RUC:fll EADER' UID - ASCD
• How do schools eliminate achievement gaps that are grounded in long-standing community and societal inequalities? • How do schools improve outcomes for all students in all communities?
Closing the Achievement Gap - scholarworks.calstate.edu
This study will look at ways students could succeed by overcoming the achievement gap. from literature reviews. Specific strategies include teacher training, planning for collaboration. …
The READI Framework: Closing Gaps by Addressing the Needs …
Across the country, states and districts are focused on educational equity. Education leaders are now, more than ever, laser-focused on closing achievement gaps among students and …
Raising Achievement and Closing the Gap - Communities In …
One way to approach this examination is to study schools that have no gap or are successfully eliminating gaps between majority and minority students. This case study looks at six public …
Continuing to Expose ESEAflex and Close Achievement Gaps
All participating states must show how their reform plans advance all students’ achievement by maintaining a high bar for student success, closing achievement gaps, improving the quality of …
Equity and Opportunity: Closing the Achievement Gap
close achievement gaps. oIdentify schools and districts with 20% or more minority populations and establish a statewide achievement gap oversight committee to monitor the plans and …
Causes of and Solutions to the Achievement Gap: Teachers
(1) Do teachers perceive the achievement gap to be an important issue facing teachers today? (2) What do teachers perceive to be the major causes of the achievement gap? (3) What do …
Closing Achievement Gaps - Thomas R. Guskey & Associates
The problem of achievement gaps among different subgroups of stu-dents has been evident in education for many years. This manuscript revisits the work of renowned educator Benjamin S. …
Principals Strategies for Successfully Closing the Achievement …
One of our greatest educational challenges is reducing the achievement gap between successful and less-successful students. The achievement gap is usually discussed in terms of dramatic …
Addressing Excellence Gaps in K-12 Education
Efforts to close achievement gaps at minimum levels of proficiency have little effect on reducing excellence gaps (Plucker & Peters, 2016), raising doubts about the effectiveness of current …
Closing the Achievement Gap in Higher Education: An …
In this chapter I address one of the most urgent and intractable problems in higher education—inequality in educational outcomes for historically under-served groups—from the …
Closing the Achievement Gap: A Policy Action Guide for …
Closing the achievement gap is critical to preserving American democracy and providing all students with the skills for economic self-sufficiency and opportunities to realize their potential.
A Deeper Look at Student Achievement - The Education Trust
f A comprehensive and accurate look at achievement gaps requires at least four perspectives: simple gap narrowing, gains across groups, gap size, and group comparisons. These …
Closing the STEM Achievement Gap from a Unified Global …
gaps among students of different demographic backgrounds and among schools with different student populations have been a persistent challenge in K–12 education in the United States.
Reducing and averting achievement gaps
These comprehensive interventions are starting to narrow early achievement gaps and boost test scores, increase measures of student well-being, and lead to higher rates of advanced course …
Closing the Achievement Gap in the Classroom Through …
In order to close the achievement gap, a paradigm change is required. It is necessary to employ CRP strategies to create this change and integrate students’ everyday life with classroom …
Closing the Achievement Gap Through Teacher Collaboration
How should district and school leaders improve education for students traditionally underserved by public education: by increasing control over teaching and curriculum, or by empowering …
SCHOOL-BASED STRATEGIES FOR NARROWING THE …
In the following report, Hanover Research summarizes the empirical research on school-based strategies for closing the achievement gap, specifically in terms of core subject achievement, …
Closing the Achievement Gap Means Transformation - ed
As intended, the findings may contribute to the closing of achievement gaps identified by socioeconomic status and race, and potentially lead to increased high school graduation and …
Helping Teachers Close The Achievement Gap - U.S.
Teachers are the key to improving student performance and closing achievement gaps. Good teachers have helped students make great progress toward becoming proficient in reading …
RUC:fll EADER' UID - ASCD
• How do schools eliminate achievement gaps that are grounded in long-standing community and societal inequalities? • How do schools improve outcomes for all students in all communities?
Closing the Achievement Gap - scholarworks.calstate.edu
This study will look at ways students could succeed by overcoming the achievement gap. from literature reviews. Specific strategies include teacher training, planning for collaboration. …
The READI Framework: Closing Gaps by Addressing the …
Across the country, states and districts are focused on educational equity. Education leaders are now, more than ever, laser-focused on closing achievement gaps among students and …
Raising Achievement and Closing the Gap - Communities In …
One way to approach this examination is to study schools that have no gap or are successfully eliminating gaps between majority and minority students. This case study looks at six public …
Continuing to Expose ESEAflex and Close Achievement Gaps
All participating states must show how their reform plans advance all students’ achievement by maintaining a high bar for student success, closing achievement gaps, improving the quality of …
Equity and Opportunity: Closing the Achievement Gap
close achievement gaps. oIdentify schools and districts with 20% or more minority populations and establish a statewide achievement gap oversight committee to monitor the plans and …
Causes of and Solutions to the Achievement Gap: Teachers …
(1) Do teachers perceive the achievement gap to be an important issue facing teachers today? (2) What do teachers perceive to be the major causes of the achievement gap? (3) What do …
Closing Achievement Gaps - Thomas R. Guskey & Associates
The problem of achievement gaps among different subgroups of stu-dents has been evident in education for many years. This manuscript revisits the work of renowned educator Benjamin …
Principals Strategies for Successfully Closing the …
One of our greatest educational challenges is reducing the achievement gap between successful and less-successful students. The achievement gap is usually discussed in terms of dramatic …
Addressing Excellence Gaps in K-12 Education
Efforts to close achievement gaps at minimum levels of proficiency have little effect on reducing excellence gaps (Plucker & Peters, 2016), raising doubts about the effectiveness of current …
Closing the Achievement Gap in Higher Education: An …
In this chapter I address one of the most urgent and intractable problems in higher education—inequality in educational outcomes for historically under-served groups—from the …
Closing the Achievement Gap: A Policy Action Guide for …
Closing the achievement gap is critical to preserving American democracy and providing all students with the skills for economic self-sufficiency and opportunities to realize their potential.
A Deeper Look at Student Achievement - The Education Trust
f A comprehensive and accurate look at achievement gaps requires at least four perspectives: simple gap narrowing, gains across groups, gap size, and group comparisons. These …
Closing the STEM Achievement Gap from a Unified Global …
gaps among students of different demographic backgrounds and among schools with different student populations have been a persistent challenge in K–12 education in the United States.
Reducing and averting achievement gaps
These comprehensive interventions are starting to narrow early achievement gaps and boost test scores, increase measures of student well-being, and lead to higher rates of advanced course …
Closing the Achievement Gap in the Classroom Through …
In order to close the achievement gap, a paradigm change is required. It is necessary to employ CRP strategies to create this change and integrate students’ everyday life with classroom …
Closing the Achievement Gap Through Teacher …
How should district and school leaders improve education for students traditionally underserved by public education: by increasing control over teaching and curriculum, or by empowering …
