Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The achievement gap between white students and African American and Hispanic students has been debated by scholars and lamented by policymakers for years. This book provides, for the first time in one place, evidence that the achievement gap can be bridged.
Synopsis
The achievement gap between white students and African American and Hispanic students has been debated by scholars and lamented by policymakers since it was first documented in 1966. The average black or Hispanic secondary school student currently achieves at about the same level as the average white student in the lowest quartile of white achievement. Black and Hispanic students are much less likely than white students to graduate from high school, acquire a college or advanced degree, or earn a middle-class living. They are also much more likely than whites to suffer social problems that often accompany low income. While educators have gained an understanding of the causes and effects of the education achievement gap, they have been less successful in finding ways to eliminate it--until now. This book provides, for the first time in one place, evidence that the achievement gap can be bridged. A variety of schools and school reforms are boosting the achievement of black and Hispanic students to levels nearing those of whites. Bridging the Achievement Gap brings together the findings of renowned education scholars who show how various states, school districts, and individual schools have lifted the achievement levels of poor and minority students. The most promising strategies include focusing on core academic skills, reducing class size, enrolling students in more challenging courses, administering annual achievement assessment tests, creating schools with a culture of competition and success, and offering vouchers in big-city school districts. While implementing new educational programs on a large scale is fraught with difficulties, these successful reform efforts offer what could be the start of widespread effective solutions for bridging the achievement gap.
Table of Contents
Introduction / John Chubb and Tom Loveless -- Would smaller classes help close the Black-white achievement gap? / Alan B. Krueger and Diane M. Whitmore -- Exploring explanations for ethnic differences in voucher impacts on student test scores / Paul E. Peterson and William G. Howell -- Reducing the gap : success for all and the achievement of African-American and Latino students / Robert E. Slavin and Nancy A. Madden -- Achievement of African-American students in the Wisconsin SAGE Program's reduced size classes / Alex Molnar ... et al. -- The Lone Star gamble : high-stakes testing, accountability, and student achievement in Texas / Laurence A. Toenjes ... et al. -- Getting the answers right / Abigail Thernstrom and Stephan Thernstrom -- High achievement in mathematics : lessons from three Los Angeles elementary schools / David Klein -- Track assignment and the Black-white test score gap : divergent and convergent evidence from 1980 and 1990 sophomores / Samuel R. Lucas and Adam Gamoran -- The role of federal resources in closing the achievement gaps of minority and disadvantaged students / Ann Flanagan and David Grissmer.