Council of Black MinnesotansCommunity Issues Forum on

Educational DisparitiesJune 11, 2009

By: Emmanuel Dolo, Ph. DResearch Director

Minnesota Minority Education Partnership

DEMOGRAPHICS

Diversity Expanding Among Students of Color and American Indian Students

Source: Minnesota Department of Education 2007

Representation of Non-English Language Global Regions Among MN K-12 Students

Poverty and Students of Color and American Indian Students in MN K-12 Public Schools

Community Students Eligible

Percent of Community

Eligible

Percent of total eligible Population

African American 58,818 75% 22%

American Indian 12,072 68% 5%

Asian/Pacific Islander 27,116 54% 10%

Latino 36,740 72% 14%

White 130,164 20% 49%

Eligibility for Free and Reduced Lunch

Source: Minnesota Department of Minnesota 2008

The Poor and Poverty Rate in Context

According to Tom Gillaspy, State Demographer,

“The poor are those unable to purchase a minimum adequate market basket of goods and services.”

The poverty rate in Minnesota is 9.2%

The poverty rate in Minneapolis/St. Paul and Inner Suburbs is 12%

What’s at Stake? Why Shall I Care?

MN will not be producing enough skilled people to satisfy workforce demands.

Adults without college education are less likely to participate in civic activities, volunteer for community organizations, or pay taxes.

They are more likely to be unemployed, incarcerated, or in poor health.

Source: Learnmoremn.org

Poverty Declines As Education Increases

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Less Thanhigh School

HighSchoolGrad

SomeCollege

BachDegree

Grad orProf Degree

Pov

erty

Rat

e

USMn

2005 ACS. Rates for population age 25 and older.Differences significant at 90% confidence

Academic Outcomes

Significant Reading Disparities

Source: Minnesota Department of Education

3rd Grade 7th Grade 10th Grade

White 86% 71% 78%

Asian/Pacific Islanders 64% 54% 58%

American Indian 66% 44% 48%

Latino 53% 39% 42%

African-American 55% 37% 36%

ELL 42% 22% 23%

2008 MCA Reading Results Grades 3, 7, & 10 Percent of Test Takers at Proficiency or Above

Persistent Outcomes Gap – Even with Scores Rising for All Student Groups

1200

1250

1300

1350

1400

1450

1500

1550

1600

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

AmericanIndian

Asian/PacificIslander

Hispanic

Black

White

Source: Minnesota Department of Education

Third Grade Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment Reading Scale Scores 1999 - 2005

What’s at Stake? Why Shall I Care?

Minnesota’s competitiveness will diminish as would its quality of life

The inequality gap will continue to widen between the affluent and the poor

The middle class would shrink

Source: MMEP’s Experience and Predictions

Significant Math Disparities

Source: Minnesota Department of Education

3rd Grade 8th Grade 11th Grade

White 86% 63% 38%

58% of Asian/Pacific Islanders

80% 62% 31%

American Indian 63% 28% 11%

Latino 65% 34% 14%

African-American 55% 24% 8%

ELL 59% 26% 3%

2008 MCA Mathematics Results Grades 3, 8, & 11 Percent of Test Takers at Proficiency or Above

Persistent Outcomes Gap – Even with Scores Rising for All Student Groups

1200

1250

1300

1350

1400

1450

1500

1550

1600

1650

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

AmericanIndian

Asian/PacificIslander

Hispanic

Black

White

Source: Minnesota Department of Education

Third Grade Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment Math Scores 1999 – 2005 by Ethnicity

Serious Disparities in High School Graduation Rates

Source: Minnesota Department of Education

2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007

American Indian 37% 40% 42% 41% 41%

Asian/Pacific Islander

63% 65% 67% 68% 66%

Latino 33% 34% 36% 40% 41%

African-American 36% 38% 39% 40% 41%

White 77% 79% 80% 80% 80%

Disparities in High School Drop Out Rates

Source: Minnesota Department of Education

2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007

White6% 5% 5% 4% 4%

Asian/Pacific Islander 10% 7% 7% 7% 6%

American Indian

25% 21% 17% 20% 19%

African American

19% 17% 14% 13% 13%

Latino32% 28% 25% 22% 20%

Framework for Addressing Math Disparities

Environment as Integrated Context (EIC) is a product of a cooperative of 12 states including Minnesota, premised on the notion of interdisciplinary, collaborative, student-centered, hands-on and engaged learning.

“When I taught the kids math skills measuring, in the classroom, they forgot it. When students had a chance to use these skills on our nature trail, they not only learned better, but could apply and remember the math skills longer.”

Kim Flynn –Math Teacher-Jackson County Middle School, Kentucky

Aspirations: High across all racial/ethnic communities

Community Gender

Combined:"I would like to go to college",

and; "..attend graduate school"

9th Grade 12th grade

White Males 85% 79%

Females 94% 92%

African-American Males 82% 81%

Females 90% 89%

Latino Males 75% 73%

Females 83% 86%

American-Indian Males 68% 65%

Females 77% 82%

Asian/Pacific Islander Males 75% 85%

Females 93% 94%

Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota Department of Health 2007

2007 Minnesota Student Survey

Pursuing Opportunity

Percentage of ACT Participation Compared to Enrolled 12th Graders

Community Number of Seniors Number of Seniors taking the ACT

Percentage of seniors in that community

American Indian 1448 239 17%

Asian/Pacific Islander 4457 2,133 48%

Latino 2925 1,629 56%

African-American 6685 812 12%

White 59234 35,010 59%

Source: Minnesota Office of Higher Education 2008 (ACT)

College Readiness

Source: Minnesota Office of Higher Education, 2008

English Writing

Social Science: College Algebra:Biology (from Science test)

All Four Subject Areas

Minimum Score Needed

18+ 21+ 22+ 24+Met all 4 minimum

scores

American Indian 64% 58% 38% 23% 18%

Asian/Pacific Islander 55% 41% 41% 25% 19%

African-American 38% 26% 16% 9% 5%

Latino 59% 50% 34% 22% 16%

White 81% 67% 59% 42% 34%

College Participation Rates

Source: MN Office of Higher Education 2008

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Asian 57% 59% 55% 56% 60%

White 49% 51% 49% 50% 50%

African-American 44% 52% 42% 50% 49%

American Indian 40% 42% 35% 37% 44%

Latino 40% 40% 34% 41% 35%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Minnesota High School Graduate

Participaton Rates in Minnesota

Postsecondary Education

2002-2006

Based on new entering students who graduated from a Minnesota high school the previous spring. Percents = H.S. Graduates within the group. Data are adjusted for

missing values.

Most Students of Color are Likely to Enroll in

Two Year Colleges

Post-Secondary Particpation by School Type - Fall 2007

47%

61%

44%

39%

62%

53%

39%

56%

61%

38%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

American Indian

Asian Pacific Islander

Latino

African American

White

4 Year Schools

2 Year Schools

Source: Minnesota Office of Higher Education

WHAT IS THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP? Poor minority students as a group score

lower on achievement measures than middle class and non-minority students

The achievement gap means different things to different people.

Could mean disparities between White and Black students or minority students in general; males and females; or ELL and regular students

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP? The causes are complex Research attributes it to two major causes:

1. Factors related to social economic status

2. Factors related to the school and school environment

Framework For Closing Achievement Gap

[Environment as an Integrating Context Learning Framework] Access: Equitable access to basic enabling

conditions, including qualified, effective teachers, rigorous curriculum based on state standards, safety nets and accelerated interventions.

Culture and Climate: Safe learning environment, promoting sense of belonging, fostering strong positive relationships among students, staff, and between school and home community

Source: www.etap.org/media/pdf/EIC_AFrameworkforlearning_Final_3_30_06.pdf

SOCIAL ECONOMIC STATUS Living in pervasive and persistent poverty Poor health Frequent changes in residence and

transferring from one school to the other Parents with low level of education and thus

low level of involvement with school work Institutionalized racism

BEST PRACTICES

Invest in high quality pre-K programs for low income people

Improve alignment between educational systems from pre-K to college

High expectations for students Rigorous curriculum and robust instructional and

social supports to students Cultural congruence in instruction to enhance

identity development

BEST PRACTICES

Smaller class size Higher teacher quality Summer enrichment program Increase parent involvement Make closing the achievement gap and continuous

academic growth benchmarks for judging school and district performance

Recruit, retain, support and reward highly qualified teachers especially in schools that serve high percentages of low income students

BEST PRACTICES

Provide culturally-relevant professional development for all school personnel

Professional development should also focus on the use of data to guide reforms

Share successful practices Change structure of state school financing to target

more resources to schools and students that need it the most

Invest in continuous state-specific research on the causes of and solutions to the persistence of the achievement gap

Policy Recommendations

Develop and adopt policies that require schools to measure the growth of students from individual starting places but set goals that assure that each child reaches standard

Establish measurable goals for closing the achievement gap for each school and for the district as a whole and report progress to the public on a regular basis.

Source: Debora Boeck – www.wssda.org

Policy Recommendations

Use measures to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies implemented by schools to close the achievement gap

Establish comprehensive data management system to collect, disaggregate, and provide continuous targeted feedback to improve or close the achievement gap.

Source: Debora Boeck – www.wssda.org

Discussion Starters

How does the school district collect, analyze, and disseminate student performance data?

What’s the data and assessment literacy among community members?

What is the community’s understanding of existing student achievement data?

How is the community using the assessment data to accelerate students’ academic achievement?

Discussion Starters

How is community addressing issues related to parent engagement practices?

Have the school learning environment been assessed? How?

Do students view their teachers as approachable? What do discipline statistics say about practices? Does the community have specific strategies for

supporting effective teaching?

What’s behind the academic disparities?

No single cause

This is a social justice issue: to be addressed by the entire society

This is a personal responsibility issue: to be addressed by the children, families and leaders of particular communities

This is a school performance issue: to be addressed by public school systems

All of this needs to be informed by sound research based on the knowledge and desire that exists in communities of color.

Source: Dr. Ron Ferguson, Harvard Achievement Gap Initiative

What do we Need to Do in MN to raise achievement for all students AND eliminate “gaps”?

Use a multidimensional response

This is a social justice issue which requires new Policy frames

This is a personal responsibility issue which requires new Perspective

This is a structural issue that requires new Practice

All of this needs to be informed by sound research based on the knowledge and desire that exists in communities of color.

THE ENDThe State of Students of Color and American

Indian Students Report 2009

“We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends."

Mary McLeod Bethune African-American educator (1875-1955)

Selected Sources Used

Closing the achievement gap: Report of Superintendent Jack O’Connell’s California P-16 Council (January, 2008)

Partners in closing the achievement gap: How charter schools can support high-quality universal pre-K. Democrats for Education Reform (2008).

Deconstructing the discourse of the achievement gap: In the Middle School closing the achievement gap inquiry group.

Rich Jones. (2006). The Bell Policy Center – Policy Brief. Understanding and closing Colorado’s achievement gap.

Andy Hartman (2002). The Bell Policy Center. Neither English Immersion nor bilingual education alone will close achievement gap.

Jennifer Sharp-Silverstein (2005). The Bell Policy Center. Understanding Colorado’s achievement gap: An analysis of student performance data by race and income.

National Center for School Engagement. (2006). Parent engagement in Jacksonville: partnering to help at-risk students achieve.

Ron Haskins & Cecilia Rouse. (2005). Closing the achievement gap. Brookings & Princeton.

Closing the achievement gap: Focus on Latino students. American Federation of Teachers (2004).

Veda Brown. (2006). National impact: The real gap in closing the academic achievement gap: Parent accountability and No Child Left Behind.