Factors such as inequitable levels of school funding, unequal distribution of highly qualified and experienced teachers , harsh disciplinary policies, minimally articulated core curriculum, and lack of consistent instructional support can result in a system that causes vulnerable students to continue falling further ...
What is the achievement gap based on?
The achievement gap is the disparity in educational attainment between different groups. 1 Achievement gaps exist at every level of education. It is between groups based on ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental abilities, and income .
What is the solution to achievement gap?
In addition to having high expectations, achievement gap outcomes are improved by quality teacher-student relationships where students perceive their teachers as supportive, caring, sensitive and responsive to their needs, and respectful of their cultural or linguistic differences.
Why is achievement gap a problem?
The achievement gap matters because it grows over time, having a lasting impact on students, schools, and communities . ... Low-income and black and Hispanic students are less likely to graduate from high school, less likely to enroll in college, and less likely to graduate from college.
How did the achievement gap start?
Research shows that the achievement gap, which often first manifests itself through standardized tests in elementary school, actually begins well before students reach kindergarten as a “school readiness” gap.
Who is affected by the achievement gap?
Job opportunities
The racial achievement gap can hinder job attainment and social mobility for minority students . The United States Census Bureau reported $62,545 as the median income of White families, $38,409 of Black families, and $39,730 for Hispanic families.
What is a good example of the achievement gap?
The achievement gap describes the disparity in academic performance between students who are in different groups. For example, a group of third-grade boys and a group of third-grade girls may perform differently on the same test.
What does it mean to close the achievement gap?
Achievement gaps are differences in success rates among groups of students . ... Teachers can help close the achievement gap among their students by teaching and assessing according to the students’ learning styles and developing learning experiences that are relevant and engaging to a diverse student population.
What state has the largest achievement gap?
However, declining scores for the lowest performing students resulted in Wisconsin having the widest achievement gap of any state. NAEP data comes from a sample of fourth and eighth grade student test scores in reading and math.
Why is closing the achievement gap important?
Why Is It Important to Close the Achievement Gap? Achievement gaps that begin in school can impact a child’s future . NEA data supports what Owyang pointed out. Students trailing in certain academic areas early in school have a lesser chance of completing high school or earning a college degree.
How do you close the reading achievement gap?
- Allow time for daily reading practice. Students are busier outside of school than ever before. ...
- Hook boys on reading. ...
- Engage all students in STEM books, particularly girls. ...
- Challenge students. ...
- Help struggling readers catch up.
How do you fix opportunity gap?
You can help close the opportunity gap.
Change policies and practices to ensure all children have a fair and substantive ·Opportunity to learn and succeed in public schools regardless of ZIP code. Tell policymakers and other officials they are wrong when they attack public education and teachers.
Is the achievement gap growing?
Sean Reardon says that achievement gaps have grown a whopping 40 percent in the last 50 years . Eric Hanushek says they haven’t budged. ... Reardon is a professor at the Graduate School of Education.
Do achievement gaps exist?
There are multiple factors that contribute to achievement gaps, and most experts agree that they’re all interrelated in some fashion. As the National Education Association (NEA) helpfully points out, though, no single party is responsible for the existence and persistence of achievement gaps .
Is the achievement gap narrowing?
But now, for the first time in decades, researchers have detected a reversal of that trend: Low-income children are entering kindergarten with stronger reading and math skills than before, moderately narrowing the achievement gap with students from higher-income households. ...
What is the income achievement gap?
This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as the “income achievement gap.” Often, “achievement gap” refers to racial disparities in academic achievement —the fact that students of color tend to lag behind their white peers in terms of school readiness, test scores, educational attainment, and grades.
