improving achievement and closing gaps€¦ · african-american & latino students: fewer...
TRANSCRIPT
Improving Achievement and Closing Gaps:
Where are we?
What do we need to do?
Kilian Betlach, Policy & Practice AssociateThe Education Trust—West
University of California, BerkeleyApril 8, 2009
2009 by The Education Trust-West
California is hobbled by twin
achievement gaps…
…first, between our state and the
rest of the nation
2007 NAEP Grade 4 Reading Average Overall Scale Scores by State
180
190
200
210
220
230
240
Ave
rage
Sca
le S
co
re California
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/
Proficient Scale Score: 238
National Average
2007 NAEP Grade 4 Reading Average Latino Scale Scores by State
180
190
200
210
220
230
240
Ave
rag
e S
ca
le S
co
re
National Average
California
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/
Proficient Scale Score: 238
2007 NAEP Grade 8 Math Average Overall Scale Scores by State
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/
Proficient Scale Score: 299
California
National Average
2007 NAEP Grade 8 Math Average African American Scale Scores by State
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/
Proficient Scale Score: 299
National Average
California
Let’s be clear.
It’s not our demographics.
2007 NAEP Grade 8 Math Average White Scale Scores by State
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/
Proficient Scale Score: 299National Average
California
2007 NAEP Grade 8 Reading Average Scale Scores by State: NOT POOR
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer,
Proficient Scale Score: 238National Average
California
…second, between low-income
students and students of color and
their more advantaged peers
CALIFORNIA
8th grade ELA, CST 2008
By Ethnicity
Source: California Department of Education, 2008
Source: California Department of Education, 2008
CALIFORNIA
11th grade ELA, CST 2008
By Ethnicity
Source: California Department of Education data, 2008
Source: California Department of Education, 2008
CALIFORNIA
Algebra I (Grades 7-11), CST 2008
By Ethnicity
Source: California Department of Education data, 2008
Source: California Department of Education, 2008
CALIFORNIA
Algebra II (Grades 7-11), CST 2008
By Ethnicity
Source: California Department of Education data, 2008
Source: California Department of Education, 2008
By the end?
CALIFORNIA
More Accurate Graduation Rates, Class of 2007
Source: Education Trust-West Analysis of CDE data, using the Manhattan Institute methodology
CALIFORNIA
4-Year High School Dropout Rate, By Ethnicity
Class of 2007
Source: California Department of Education data, 2008
Why is there an achievement gap?
• Poor Health
• Economically
Disadvantaged
• Lack of parent
involvement
• Rough
Neighborhoods
These gaps begin before children
arrive at the schoolhouse door.
But rather than organizing our educational
system to ameliorate this problem, we
organize it to exacerbate the problem.
How?
By giving students who start with less, less of
everything that matters in education.
Confront the expectations gap.
COLLEGE-READY GRADUATION RATES
9th graders graduating four years later with A-G
mastery* Class of 2007
Source: ETW’s Raising the Roof, 2008, Manhattan Institute Methodology
*Students who have completed the A-
G course sequence with a “C” or better
in each class.
COLLEGE READY GRADUATION RATES
CALIFORNIA
Class of 2004-Class of 2007
23% 25% 24% 24%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2004 2005 2006 2007
All Students
Source: ETW analysis of CDE data, using Manhattan Institute MethodologySource: ETW’s Raising the Roof, 2008, Manhattan Institute Methodology
African-American & Latino Students: Fewer Enrolled
in Necessary A-G Courses by 12th Grade
Source: Finkelstein, N.D. and Fong, A.B. (2008). Course-taking patterns and preparation for postsecondary education in California’s public university system among minority youth. (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2008-No. 035). Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory West. Retrieved fromhttp://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs
Latino Students: Dramatically Different
Opportunities Based on Counselor
Source: ETW analysis of unnamed urban Southern California School District
Even though most students want to go to college, the
truth is, many low income students and students of
color aren’t getting the classes in the first place.
SoCal High School:
Many Senior Schedules Lack Any Rigor
Student A Student B Student C
• Concert Band
• Library Practice
• Office Practice
• American
Government
• Marching Band
• Teacher Assistant
• Art Fundamentals
• Senior Math
• Teacher Assistant
• Short Story
• Office Practice
• Early Departure
• Early Departure
• Late Arrival
• Concert Band
• Marching Band
• Senior Math
• Office Practice
• Latin American
Literature
• Food Service
• Early Departure
Source: EdTrust—West Transcript Analysis of unnamed Southern California District
Confront the teacher quality gap.
Students Who Start 2nd Grade at About the
Same Level of Math Achievement…
55 57
0
20
40
60
80
100
Group 1 Group 2
Avera
ge P
erc
en
tile
Ran
k
Beginning of 2nd Grade
Source: Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash Weerasinghe, The Effects of
Teachers on Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.
…Finish 5th Grade Math at Dramatically Different
Levels Depending on the Quality of Their Teachers
55 57
77
27
0
20
40
60
80
100
Group 1 Assigned to Three
EFFECTIVE Teachers
Group 2 Assigned to Three
INEFFECTIVE Teachers
Avera
ge P
erc
en
tile
Ran
k
Beginning of 2nd Grade End of 5th Grade
Source: Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash Weerasinghe, The Effects of
Teachers on Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.
Good teachers matter a lot.
But some groups of kids don’t get their
fair share of quality teachers.
CALIFORNIA: Most Intern Teachers
Work in High-Minority Schools
• 44% of all interns are teaching in schools with the highest proportion of students of color, compared to only 7% of interns in schools with lowest population of students of color.
18%
31%
44%
7%
Lowest Quartile
Third Quartile
Second Quartile
Highest Quartile
Students of Color Quartiles
Guha, R., Campbell, A., Humphrey, D., Shields, P., Tiffany-Morales, J., & Wechsler,
M. (2006). California’s teaching force 2006: Key issues and trends. Santa Cruz, CA:
The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.
TEXAS: Low-Income and Students of Color Get
Less Qualified Teachers – English I
Source: Analysis of 2005-2006 Teacher Employment Records from the Public Education Information Management Systems (PEIMS) data by Ed Fuller, Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin.
26%26%26%26%
13%13%13%13%
22%22%22%22%16%16%16%16%
50%50%50%50%
17%17%17%17%
0%0%0%0%
10%10%10%10%
20%20%20%20%
30%30%30%30%
40%40%40%40%
50%50%50%50%
Perc
en
t o
f C
lasses T
au
gh
t b
y O
ut
of
Fie
ld T
each
ers
High-Poverty Low Poverty High% Latino Low% LatinoHigh% African- Low% African-
American American
College-prep assignments, using the same
text book
School A, District A,
California
1467 students enrolled in
2005
• 82% White
• 6% Asian
• 4% Latino
• 2% Black
• 2% Low-Income
School B, District B,
California
2001 students enrolled in
2005
• 45% White
• 4% Asian
• 48% Latino
• 1% Black
• 27% Low-Income
Same Text Book:
High-Level college-prep assignment.
• Describe the fundamental problems in the
economy that helped cause the Great
Depression. Consider agriculture, consumer
spending and debt, distribution of wealth, the
stock market
• Describe how people struggled to survive
during the Depression
• How did Hoover’s belief in “rugged
individualism” shape his policies during the
depression?
Same Text Book:
Low Level college-prep assignment.
• Role play (Meet the Press) & interview key people of the era
• Draw a political cartoon highlighting a major event of the time
• Share excerpts from noted literary authors-Lewis, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Hughes
• Listen to jazz artists of the 20’s
• Construct a collage depicting new inventions
Middle School:
7th Grade Assignment
Explain the difference between the systems
of the body affected by an allergy to pollen
and those affected by an allergy to food as
well as the process by which different
medicines reduce the symptoms of each
allergy.
Middle School:
7th Grade Assignment
Name and describe the functions of the five
bodily systems.
Elementary School:
Kindergarten assignment
Based on our reading, choose an ocean
animal you would like to be. Explain what
you would look like, what you would eat,
and what you would do. Why do you want
to be this animal?
Elementary School:
Kindergarten assignment
Draw a picture of animal you would like to
be.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
High-performing districts and schools
dispel pervasive myths about what
kids—and adults—can accomplish.
Ralph J. Bunche Elementary School
Compton Unified School DistrictCarson, California
• 417 students in grades K-5
• 99% African American and Latino
• 40% English Language Learner
• 93% Low-Income
Source: California Department of Education, http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/
Ralph Bunche Students Outperforming
District and State 2007 API
Source: California Department of Education 2007
Ralph Bunche Success at Every Grade LevelMath 2007
Source: California Department of Education 2007
Ralph Bunche College Bound
Abraham Lincoln High SchoolSan Jose, California
• 1741 students in grades 9-12
• 60% Latino
• 34% Low-Income
Source: California Department of Education
Lincoln High Graduating Latino Students College-
Ready at Significantly Higher Rates than the
County and State
Source: California Department of Education
Source: California Department of Education
Gap Closing at Lincoln High School
Lincoln High Performing Arts
There are big differences at the
district level, too.
Even among the “same” group of
students.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP), 2003 Trial Urban District Reading Assessment.
* There is a 19 point gap between Poor African American 4th graders in the District
of Columbia and Boston (roughly equivalent to 2 years’ worth of learning)
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP), 2003 Trial Urban District Reading Assessment.
* There is a 28 point gap between Poor African American 8th graders in Los Angeles
and Houston (roughly equivalent to 3 years’ worth of learning)
Why is there an achievement gap?
• Poor Health
• Economically
Disadvantaged
• Lack of parent
involvement
• Rough
Neighborhoods
Why is there an achievement gap?
• Poor Health
• Economically
Disadvantaged
• Lack of parent
involvement
• Rough
Neighborhoods
• Low expectations
• Ineffective
instructional methods
• Inequitable and
inflexible distribution
of resources
• Inequitable
distribution of quality
teachers
Ultimately, we know the
achievement gap can be closed.
We have the knowledge and experience to disrupt the business-as-usual practices
that perpetuate cycles of low expectations and low achievement.
We need the will.
The Education Trust—West
Download this Presentation
www.edtrustwest.org
Oakland, CA
(510) 465-6444