Report: Progress in narrowing achievement gap
TAMPA (AP) – Florida students have made progress in narrowing the achievement gap since the 2002 No Child Left Behind law, but significant disparities remain, according to a new report by the Center on Education Policy.
The organization’s study found that in math and reading, students across race and income levels made gains in the percentage scoring at basic, proficient or advanced levels on state tests.
Some of the most significant improvements were seen in elementary black and Latino students: The percentage of fourth-grade Latino students scoring proficient in reading exams increased from 46 to 64 percent between 2002 and 2008, and from 36 to 53 percent for blacks. Similar jumps in proficiency were seen in fourth-grade math.
Despite those improvements, however, the gap between white, black and Latino students remains significant: 81 percent of fourth-grade white students tested proficient in reading, compared to 53 percent of blacks and 64 percent of Latinos.
That gap tends to widen as students enter middle and high school. Fifty percent of 10th-grade white students scored proficient in reading, compared to 17 percent of blacks and 30 percent of Latinos.
“It’s great that we’re continuing to see gains among all groups,” said Braulio Colon, assistant director of Enlace Florida, a statewide network that promotes college readiness, access and success for underrepresented students. “But the area where we’re going to have to continue to get stronger is high school reading.”
Closing the gap is a central goal of the 2002 No Child Left Behind law, but data has shown limited results.
A U.S. Department of Education report released in July found that while reading and math scores are improving for black students in public schools across the country, the disparity between blacks and whites has lessened only slightly. On average, the gap narrowed by about seven points from 1992 to 2007.
Florida was one of three states that narrowed the divide in fourth grade reading.
Nationwide, the Center on Education Policy’s report found that the achievement gap for minority and low-income students has narrowed in most states. In 74 percent of the cases the organization studied, gaps narrowed in the percentage scoring proficient in reading and math. In the other 23 percent, the gap widened.
“The good news from this study is that, overall, states have made progress in closing achievement gaps,” Jack Jennings, CEP’s CEO, said in a statement. “However, now is not the time to let up. There is still much work to be done.”
Particular progress was noted for black and Latino students: The Latino-white gap narrowed in 79 percent of the cases studied, and the black-white gap improved in 77 percent of instances.
The achievement gap is believed to start before students enter school, and can have long-reaching effects, with minority students having higher dropout rates in high school.