New research: ‘Connecting Dots and Closing the Gap’

Extensive new research on how best to close California’s pervasive and troubling academic achievement gap underscores the importance of the task—and the difficulties that educators face when tackling this important work.

That was the message behind 10 academic papers presented at “Connecting the Dots and Closing the Gap,” a daylong summit at the University of California, Davis, April 18. The research was commissioned by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell’s P-16 Council, of which CSBA Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin is a member, to expand on the recommendations included in the council’s own “Closing the Achievement Gap” report released earlier this year.

JoAnn Yee, CSBA’s senior director for Strategy Development, Achievement, Diversity and Urban Affairs, was among dozens of education experts who attended the summit. She said the research should be required reading for everyone concerned with eliminating the disparities in school performance between different student subgroups.

“The researchers have provided an incredibly comprehensive resource and guide to help educators and policymakers address the persistent achievement gap at every level,” Yee said. “The challenge now will be reaching consensus on the recommendations and finding the political will and resources to act on them.”

Multiple gaps—and goals

Two of the P-16 studies have especially significant implications for state policymakers, Yee said. One is the report from Policy Analysis for California Education, a nonpartisan think tank based at the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University, that included a national survey of gap-closing strategies and interventions employed by other states. That report, “Narrowing the Multiple Achievement Gaps in California: Ten Goals for the Long Haul,” concluded that no state in the country has yet been able to consistently narrow the achievement gap dividing students of color and economically disadvantaged students from higher-achieving white, Asian and affluent students.

The PACE researchers acknowledged that the challenges associated with closing the gap in California are “by every measure more daunting” than those faced by any other state in country. Report authors found encouraging evidence that despite “massive growth in enrollment and diversity over the last 15 years and a level of support markedly lower than that provided in most states,” achievement for all California students has improved “or at least held steady—a tribute to California’s educators.”

The study identifies five consistently successful strategies—high standards, aligned curriculum and instruction, effective teaching, extra learning opportunities, early childhood intervention and access to college preparatory courses for minority and low-income high school students— that have been implemented in New York, Florida and Texas, states similar to California in size and demographics.

Yee also highlighted research by UC Berkeley education professor W. Norton Grubb, faculty coordinator for the Principal Leadership Institute. Grubb outlined goals that he believes should guide state policy, such as enhancing school capacity; addressing racial and ethnic issues head on—and recognizing the special assets and needs of immigrant students; and reforming school finance and school, district and state governance.

“The multiple achievement gaps in California are problems with long histories and complex causes,” Grubb’s report says, “and they cannot be reduced overnight.” Each goal, he adds, “is a substantial undertaking, but it is crucial for educators and policymakers to confront the entire landscape of policies necessary to narrow achievement gaps.”

Related link:

The papers and related PowerPoint presentations are available @ www.closingtheachievementgap.org/cs/ctag/print/htdocs/home.htm.