Alabama Education Policy Primer

TOC	Table of Contents
Intro	Introduction by Kenneth K.Wong and James W. Guthrie
Ch. 1	Accountability, Assessments, and Standards
Ch. 2	Achievement
Ch. 3	Closing the Achievement Gap
Ch. 4	Finance and Funding
Ch. 5	Governance and Policymaking
Ch. 6	Math, Science and Technology
Ch. 7	No Child Left Behind (Elementary and Secondary Education Act)
Ch. 8	Reading and Writing
Ch. 9	School Choice
Ch. 10	School Leadership
Ch. 11	Teaching Quality
- - -	Education-ary

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Alabama Education Policy Primer

Ch. 3: Closing the Achievement Gap

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Overview

“The myth [about achievement gaps] says that student achievement has much more to do with a child’s background than with the quality of instruction he or she receives. The myth is powerful. It is pervasive. And it is wrong. All across the country, there are examples of high-poverty schools that perform at or near the top on state tests.” - Kati Haycock, Executive Director, The Education Trust

Simply stated, achievement gaps are disparities in academic achievement across lines of wealth, race, and special education. Typically, low-income students and minorities score lower on tests and other measures of achievement than non-low-income and white students. Research has revealed achievement gaps among the following groups:

• Students from low-income families and their more affluent peers
• Minority students-especially between African-American, Hispanic, and Native-American students and their white and Asian-American counterparts. In fact, the gaps persist even for students from more affluent minority families
• Students in general education courses and those in special education courses Some researchers have found that explanations of the achievement gap often point to the inadequacies in the child’s education in the home.

One study found that by age three, children from professional families developed a vocabulary of about 1,100 words while children from low-income, non-professional families had a vocabulary of about 500 words. This research demonstrates that the achievement gap starts early and highlights the importance of quality early learning and K-12 instruction, especially for at-risk students. The bottom line is that all children — regardless of socioeconomic background — can learn at high levels, when taught to high levels. Some children may have more obstacles than others, but it is a fact that all children can learn.

There are increasing numbers of low income and minority schools across the country that have consistently outperformed their more affluent and white peers. These performance results have led to research on promising strategies that can help to close achievement gaps by raising student achievement among minorities and low-income students. Central Park Elementary School (Birmingham), Maryvale Elementary School (Mobile), Weaver Elementary School (Calhoun County), West Jasper Elementary and K. J. Clark School of Mathematics and Science (Mobile) are several of the high-poverty schools in Alabama that have made dramatic strides toward closing the achievement gap.