New Topic Page: Education Achievement Gap

Our newest topic page addition, Education Achievement Gap, looks at an issue that conjures surprisingly broad agreement across the political spectrum.

The size of the achievement gap is unsettlingly staggering: While the gap has narrowed since the 1970s, according to 2008 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data, the Nation’s “Report Card,” the average gap in reading across all age groups tested (9, 13 and 17-year-olds) between White students on the one hand, and Black and Hispanic students on the other, is still around 24 points. In math the gap is almost 27 points between White and Black kids, and 20 points between Whites and Hispanic kids. At the end of high school, the average Black and Hispanic student are about 4 years behind the average White and Asian student.

Now, while there is general agreement about the existence of this achievement gap, when it comes to its causes, a variety of factors are implicated, ranging from school and teacher quality, lack of parental involvement, a cultural bias against achievement (i.e. “acting white”), racial segregation, economic resource limitations on the part of families, and even differences in IQ scores, with further disputes over what constitutes IQ.

Of course, many ways to close the achievement gap have been proposed, including making classes more heterogeneous (i.e. mixing students based on performance, race and/or gender), hiring more teachers with advanced or subject-specific degrees, and using more experienced teachers. Yet, there is conflicting evidence concerning the effects of such approaches on achievement.

Still, when we take a look at high-performing schools, we do find some similarities. Abigail Thernstrom, a noted Manhattan Institute scholar on race issues, points out that:

"Almost all excellent schools teaching highly disadvantaged kids look very much alike - and quite different from most regular public schools. ...

In addition to an academically superb program, they demand that their students learn how to speak standard English. They also insist that kids show up on time, properly dressed; that they sit up straight at their desks, chairs pulled in, workbooks organized; that they never waste a minute in which they could be learning and always finish their homework; that they look at people to whom they are talking, listen to teachers with respect, treat classmates with equal civility, and shake hands with visitors to the school. ...

But such schools cannot be created within the normal structure of public education. It is no accident that those I came to admire were all charter schools; their principals needed the authority and autonomy to shape a distinctive education. And such schools cannot function unless teachers and families have chosen to be there - with the understanding that they will be asked to leave if they choose to reject the discipline and dedication that the principals demand."

Now, why isn’t the education establishment actively basing reform on such examples? Economist Thomas Sowell puts it bluntly:

"For those who are interested in schools that produce academic success for minority students, there is no lack of examples, past and present. Tragically, there is a lack of interest by the public school establishment in such examples. Again, I think this goes back to the politics of education.

Put bluntly, failure attracts more money than success. Politically, failure becomes a reason to demand more money, smaller classes, and more trendy courses and programs, ranging from 'black English' to bilingualism and 'self-esteem.' Politicians who want to look compassionate and concerned know that voting money for such projects accomplishes that purpose for them and voting against such programs risks charges of mean-spiritedness, if not implications of racism."

And, it’s not just spending lust that is the problem. The education establishment is stuck in a time warp, as Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute notes. “[W]hile almost every other sector of the economy has been marked by new technologies, labor-saving devices, steady growth in productivity, and an evolving labor pool, we are hiring and deploying educators just the way we did a half-century ago.”

No doubt the achievement gap is appalling. More appalling though is the fact that those wielding the most power in the education system—teachers unions, politicians, government bureaucrats—tout social justice and equality of opportunity, while denying the power to those who are most likely to affect positive change—children, parents, and individual teachers.

To learn more about the Education Achievement Gap, go here. For other great topics, visit our topic page library. Special thanks to intern Natalia Malancu for creating this topic! For more information about becoming an intern with ITO, check here.

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