Closing the achievement gap was the center of conversation in many of our classes. The achievement gap refers to the difference of performance on different educational measures. This can be broken down by gender, race, intellectual ability, and socioeconomic status. There are three main measures that are used to determine the achievement gap. They include standardized tests, dropout rates, and graduation rates. NCLB, which we have spent much time discussing the pros and cons for, has been put into place to try to eliminate the gap by 2014. However, there are other areas that need improvement, besides school factors, that may be contributing to the gap.
Home and community include a majority of these factors. Studies have shown that children who grow up in a lower SES start off school with a less advantage than others, for example majority of these individuals know less words than children living in middle or high SES. If these children are starting off already behind, it will makes it that much harder to bridge the gap. Some articles suggested that we need to work on preventing the gap and start with early intervention to ensure that our students are working on the same page from the start.
Many of the articles also suggested the idea of investing in longer school days or possibly longer school years. Many of our “competitors” are already doing so. This gives more time for students to be in the classroom and provides more support to those who need to catch up. One article mentioned how KIPP charter schools in the United States have enrolled students from the poorest families but ensure that almost every one of them will graduate. On top of that, 80% of these students will make it to college. With that being said, KIPP students spend 60% more time in school than the average American student. They start before majority of our students, end after them, and go to school on some weekends. They also have extended school years.
Additional supports in the community and giving the children a chance to get involved were also repeated recommendations. One article took a different approach and focused on the health crisis of the United States. Although this is not talked about often, it makes sense. When people do not feel good, they are not going to be able to work to their absolute potential. The same works with children. The article discussed the percentages of youths who have visual problems, asthma, become pregnant, are bullies, and are not getting the nutrition in breakfast that they need. It is alarming how these percentages double and triple for the urban population. Because of low funds, these problems also go untreated. This can account for additional problems we as a nation need to address before we can fully say we are going to close the gap by a specific date.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
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