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Managing Accountability by Monitoring Achievement Gaps

Erica O. Turner

in Suddenly Diverse: How School Districts Manage Race and Inequality

This chapter examines how and why Milltown and Fairview district leaders came to adopt similar homegrown data or performance monitoring policies and practices, which reflected and recreated the ... More

This chapter examines how and why Milltown and Fairview district leaders came to adopt similar homegrown data or performance monitoring policies and practices, which reflected and recreated the color-blind managerialism of high stakes testing and accountability policy. It argues that after efforts to train teachers to be more sensitive to the complications of teaching across lines of race and culture drew educator resistance, the district leaders embraced “data based decision making” as equity-oriented education policy and practice that would address “achievement gaps” and related challenges to district legitimacy without blaming students, and without imperiling cooperation from the predominantly white teachers and white middle-class residents upon whom they depended for school district support and operation. Performance monitoring caused district leaders to confront some inequities; but, it also catered to white teachers and legitimized data-wielding district leaders over teachers and families of color, all without directly addressing the race and class inequities at the root of disparities in achievement and educational opportunity in these school districts.Less

Introduction: The Essential Questions Regarding a Federal Right to Education

Kimberly Jenkins Robinson

in A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy

In this introduction, Kimberly Jenkins Robinson explains that despite some gains from state school finance litigation, educational opportunity and achievement gaps remain prevalent throughout the ... More

In this introduction, Kimberly Jenkins Robinson explains that despite some gains from state school finance litigation, educational opportunity and achievement gaps remain prevalent throughout the United States. To address these enduring gaps, many scholars have argued that the United States should recognize a federal right to education, despite the United States Supreme Court’s refusal to recognize this right in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez. It also is important to note that after decades in state court litigation, advocates have recently returned to federal court to argue for a federal right to education. Therefore, this introduction outlines that the book takes up three timely and essential questions regarding a federal right to education: Should the United States consider recognizing a federal right to education? How could the United States recognize such a right? And what should the right guarantee? The introduction concludes with a summary of each chapter.Less

Tug of War: Trends of Racial and Ethnic Gaps in Achievement and Environment

Jaekyung Lee

in The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps: Why and How American Education is Losing (but can still Win) the War on Underachievement

This chapter addresses the questions of racial achievement gap trends in terms of equity. How have achievement gaps among racial and ethnic groups changed over the past four decades? What changes in ... More

This chapter addresses the questions of racial achievement gap trends in terms of equity. How have achievement gaps among racial and ethnic groups changed over the past four decades? What changes in family and school factors are related to achievement gap trends? The comparison of long-term achievement trends by race/ethnicity suggests that black–white and Hispanic–white achievement gaps have narrowed, but progress has slowed or reversed since the late 1980s. In contrast, the Asian–white gaps are relatively smaller and tend to widen in favor of Asian-American students. Although gap reductions in school and teacher resources, as well as in student course-taking, have contributed to narrowing the achievement gaps for black and Hispanic students, there remain substantial gaps in terms of advanced course-taking, teacher quality, and teacher expectations or standards for student performance. The negative trends of racial resegregation and minority students’ disengagement from schooling are also noted.Less

Leveling the Learning Bar in Secondary School Across Social Class

Marie Duru-Bellat

in Lessons in Educational Equality: Successful Approaches to Intractable Problems Around the World

This chapter focuses on educational equity in the world’s most affluent countries, where access to primary schooling is now universal and what is at stake is developing equitable secondary and ... More

This chapter focuses on educational equity in the world’s most affluent countries, where access to primary schooling is now universal and what is at stake is developing equitable secondary and tertiary schooling. In these countries, secondary school students from poorer backgrounds are less likely to achieve at the level necessary to advance to higher levels of education and more likely to drop out of school than their more affluent peers. Drawing on evidence from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), this chapter explores interventions at the individual, school and neighbourhood level that can keep youth from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds engaged in school, raise their achievement, and prepare them for higher education. It finds that there is not necessarily a trade-off between efficiency and equity: countries with high mean levels of performance are typically the ones in which the disparities between pupils are the smallest.Less

Brain Race: International Achievement Gaps and Educational Deficits

Jaekyung Lee

in The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps: Why and How American Education is Losing (but can still Win) the War on Underachievement

This chapter addresses the question of international achievement gaps in terms of globality. How well do US students fare against peers in other developed countries? What key family and school ... More

This chapter addresses the question of international achievement gaps in terms of globality. How well do US students fare against peers in other developed countries? What key family and school factors account for international achievement gaps? A comparison of the math achievement trajectory between the United States and other nations shows that American students learn less than East Asian counterparts during middle school years and that the gap is attributable to between-country differences in the learning environment (e.g., curriculum standards, teacher quality, student engagement). A comparison of social achievement gaps in the United States and Korea shows that the two countries have similarly large achievement gaps between high- and low-socioeconomic (SES) students but different inequality mechanisms. In Korea, family SES tends to affect students’ achievement gaps primarily through differential private tutoring opportunities, whereas American family SES tends to affect students’ achievement gap primarily through differential schooling opportunities and teacher quality.Less

Achievement as an Educational Good

Harry Brighouse, Helen F. Ladd, Susanna Loeb, and Adam Swift

in Educational Goods: Values, Evidence, and Decision-Making

This chapter explains the idea of an achievement gap, and surveys the data available on how achievement is, in fact, distributed across various demographic groups. It also explores the place of the ... More

This chapter explains the idea of an achievement gap, and surveys the data available on how achievement is, in fact, distributed across various demographic groups. It also explores the place of the concept of achievement -- understood narrowly as performance on certain kinds of tests -- in the broader concept of educational goods.Less

Assuring Essential Educational Resources through a Federal Right to Education

Linda Darling-Hammond

in A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy

In this chapter, Linda Darling-Hammond confronts the question of what floor of educational opportunity a federal right to education should guarantee. Darling-Hammond considers research regarding the ... More

In this chapter, Linda Darling-Hammond confronts the question of what floor of educational opportunity a federal right to education should guarantee. Darling-Hammond considers research regarding the resources that students need to receive an excellent and equitable educational opportunity, including high-quality teachers and principals as well as access to a rigorous curriculum and the course materials and technology needed for a modern education. She argues that a federal right to education should guarantee these resources for all children as the nation strives to eliminate educational opportunity and achievement gaps.Less

Bell Curve: Achievement and Environment Gaps Among Racial and Ethnic Groups

Jaekyung Lee

in The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps: Why and How American Education is Losing (but can still Win) the War on Underachievement

This chapter addresses the questions of a racial gap in the academic achievement trajectory in terms of equity. How do academic growth patterns vary among racial and ethnic groups within the United ... More

This chapter addresses the questions of a racial gap in the academic achievement trajectory in terms of equity. How do academic growth patterns vary among racial and ethnic groups within the United States? What key family and school factors account for racial achievement gaps over the course of P-12 education? The analysis of longitudinal student assessment data shows that black and Hispanic students lag behind white students, who in turn trail Asian-American students. Overall, school factors do not contribute as much to racial achievement gaps as family factors. However, switching the reference group from whites to Asian-American students not only enlarges the size of relative achievement gaps for blacks and Hispanics, but also weakens the relative importance of family SES as an explanatory factor of underachievement; racial gaps in academic engagement and school opportunities become more salient. The issues of racial gaps in educational adequacy and reciprocity are also examined.Less

Introduction

Jaekyung Lee

in The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps: Why and How American Education is Losing (but can still Win) the War on Underachievement

The Introduction gives an overview of the major issues and topics addressed. In this book, the anatomy of underachievement problems is structured around the themes of excellence, equity, ... More

The Introduction gives an overview of the major issues and topics addressed. In this book, the anatomy of underachievement problems is structured around the themes of excellence, equity, accountability, and globality. Discussing socioeconomic changes and educational policy shifts, the book provides a new framework of research and policy on achievement gaps, one that supports the broader notion of accountability for simultaneous pursuit of both excellence and equity. In the Balanced Achievement Gap Management System (BAGMS) model, gaps define opportunities for growth and tap into unrealized potential. Although research in this book also focuses on academic achievement and educational attainment as key outcome variables, other important educational outcomes, such as the affective and behavioral domains of human development, are considered as correlates or predictors of academic achievement. The longitudinal and multilevel data used are described, and the utilities and limitations of this research are discussed.Less

Achievement Gaps Arise from Opportunity Gaps

Kevin G. Welner and Prudence L. Carter

in Closing the Opportunity Gap: What America Must Do to Give Every Child an Even Chance

Kevin Welner and Prudence Carter explain why it is important to shift the nation’s focus back toward an “opportunity gap” framing of educational inequity. Thinking about inputs helps us to focus on ... More

Kevin Welner and Prudence Carter explain why it is important to shift the nation’s focus back toward an “opportunity gap” framing of educational inequity. Thinking about inputs helps us to focus on the deficiencies in the foundational components of societies, schools, and communities that produce significant differences in educational—and ultimately socioeconomic—outcomes. Thinking in terms of “achievement gaps” emphasizes the symptoms; thinking about unequal opportunity highlights the causes.Importantly, discussions of both achievement and opportunity gaps sensibly begin with the premise that we as a nation must act to redress the serious inequities that exist between and within schools, as well as among different people, groups, and communities across the country. Both discussions include an understanding that outcomes should be measured, analyzed, and addressed. Welner and Carter argue thattest-score and attainment differences will not disappear until policy is dedicated to changing the conditions that shape and impede achievement.Less

What School Leaders Need to Know

Derrick Darby and John L. Rury

in The Color of Mind: Why the Origins of the Achievement Gap Matter for Justice

The introduction sets up the main issues of the book, which argues that the "Color of Mind" has served to rationalize racially exclusionary school practices and unequal educational opportunities, and ... More

The introduction sets up the main issues of the book, which argues that the "Color of Mind" has served to rationalize racially exclusionary school practices and unequal educational opportunities, and the effects of these, in turn, have worked to sustain this racial ideology, making the Color of Mind and educational inequality mutually reinforcing. The authors further argue that the Color of Mind is the rotten foundation of black-white educational achievement gaps and educational opportunity gaps in the United States.Less

The Racial Achievement Gap

Derrick Darby and John L. Rury

in The Color of Mind: Why the Origins of the Achievement Gap Matter for Justice

This chapter documents racial achievement gap trends, and reviews the important yet limited contributions that social scientists have made to our understanding of the racial achievement gap.

Conclusion: An American Dream Deferred: A Federal Right to Education

Kimberly Jenkins Robinson

in A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy

In this chapter, Kimberly Jenkins Robinson concludes this volume by highlighting many of the lessons that emerge from the chapters. She acknowledges the consensus among the authors regarding the ... More

In this chapter, Kimberly Jenkins Robinson concludes this volume by highlighting many of the lessons that emerge from the chapters. She acknowledges the consensus among the authors regarding the urgent need for new and impactful reforms that close opportunity and achievement gaps. She highlights the compelling justifications for a renewed federal commitment to equity and excellence given the failure of states to sustain commitments to equity and excellence for all students. She notes that several authors emphasize the importance of federal reforms that move beyond tinkering at the margins of educational opportunity and achievement. The authors in the volume also concur that a just society demands access to a high-quality education. Robinson explains that the collective insights of this volume establish that among the array of potential reforms, a federal right to education warrants serious consideration. She concludes by explaining how to forge a path toward a federal right to education, including building on a recent unprecedented public commitment by state education chiefs to advance educational equity.Less

Multiple Intelligences: A Digression

Janet Grossbach Mayer

in As Bad as They Say?: Three Decades of Teaching in the Bronx

This chapter briefly introduces the multiple intelligences theory, with an apology to Professor Howard Gardner for its brevity. Professor Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences was described in ... More

This chapter briefly introduces the multiple intelligences theory, with an apology to Professor Howard Gardner for its brevity. Professor Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences was described in his groundbreaking, provocative, life-affirming, life-altering books: Frames of Mind, and Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. Professor Gardner identified seven intelligences in his 1993 book and added an eighth intelligence in 1995. Many urban and rural students across the country are either failing the standardized tests or devoting most of their school day and time to passing these tests. In New York City, students are left back by the thousands, often two or more times, because they fail to meet the standards. This shows that not only are they failing to narrow the achievement gap, but in their obsession with these standardized tests, covering only linguistic skills and logical-mathematical skills, they are grossly overlooking, neglecting, and even abandoning most of the other intelligences.Less

Balancing Act: International Policy Benchmarking and Education Reforms

Jaekyung Lee

in The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps: Why and How American Education is Losing (but can still Win) the War on Underachievement

This chapter addresses the question of international education reform in terms of globality. Did American school reform policies benchmark Asian counterparts to narrow the international education ... More

This chapter addresses the question of international education reform in terms of globality. Did American school reform policies benchmark Asian counterparts to narrow the international education deficit and achievement gap over the past decades? What lessons can the American education system learn from high-performing Asian nations? The international comparison reveals both positive and negative aspects of the American school system in comparison with Asian counterparts including South Korea. While the United States instituted more centralized curriculum and high-stakes testing to improve academic achievement and accountability, Korea decentralized and loosened national curriculum and testing to improve student attitudes and creativity. Despite educational benchmarking efforts between the two countries, policy impacts on student outcomes were tenuous, and their gaps in student outcomes persist. It is argued that American education needs to achieve better balance: building on its strengths in creativity and pedagogy while addressing deficiencies in curriculum standards and teacher quality.Less

Conclusion

Jaekyung Lee

in The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps: Why and How American Education is Losing (but can still Win) the War on Underachievement

The war on achievement gaps is complex and multidimensional, and America is losing this war on both excellence and equity fronts. Less than half of the nation’s academic growth potential has been ... More

The war on achievement gaps is complex and multidimensional, and America is losing this war on both excellence and equity fronts. Less than half of the nation’s academic growth potential has been realized, with American students’ underachievement largely a consequence of inadequate and inequitable learning opportunities in the public education system. American education must learn from high-performing countries that better achieve excellence and equity through high-quality teachers, equitable school funding, universal preschool, accessible college, and strong community and social equity. However, American schools must avoid the perils of the Asian education model: overstandardized education and high-stakes testing that raise the risk of narrowing educational goals and undermining creativity. The chapter recommends a new vision and new strategies for American public education reform, including a B-P-16 education pledge that guarantees a high school diploma with college and career readiness for all students, followed by options for postsecondary education for qualified students.Less