Executive Director’s note: Closing the achievement gap: It’s not one-dimensional
By:
Vernon M. Billy
This article is dedicated to the memory of my friend, colleague and former San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent, Dr. Arlene Ackerman.
This issue of California Schools is devoted to exploring a topic that has existed in some form since the creation of the public school system in America—the “achievement gap” between white and minority students and children from affluent homes and poor children from all ethnic backgrounds. The achievement gap—particularly between white and black students—is an issue that seems to transcend time, geography, and socioeconomic status. And while considerable efforts have been made to eliminate this gap, it has proven to be persistently stubborn.
Indeed, the years preceding the historic 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education were marked by legalized inequality in our school system that provided a well-documented substandard education to African American and other minority students compared to their white counterparts.
Post Brown, beginning in the 1960s, the federal government stepped in and made dramatic investments in early education readiness through programs such as Head Start, and targeted funding to support economically disadvantaged students through the establishment of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. During this period, major changes—spurred by citizen activism and federal policymaking and intervention—were changing the core of society in California and the nation. From the Civil Rights movement to the War on Poverty, to the United Farm Workers movement, to residential and school desegregation, America’s minority families and children were starting to realize hard-fought social, economic and academic opportunities that hadn’t previously existed.
Some research has suggested that these events and investments by the federal government could have set the groundwork for the dramatic narrowing of the achievement gap that ensued from the early 1970s through the late 1980s. During this period, National Assessment of Education Progress data shows that, for example, the black-white achievement gap in reading and mathematics saw its greatest narrowing since NAEP began reporting this data. The achievement gap for black students was, in some instances, reduced by half!
However, if we fast-forward through the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century, NAEP scores showed the achievement gap remaining fairly stagnant. For example, between 1990 and 2009, the mathematics achievement gap for eighth-grade Hispanic males held relatively constant at about 26 points. In California, this stagnation was, in some cases, misleading as Latino, black and white student achievement all improved simultaneously. This upward trend in achievement is generally consistent with recent results from California’s Standardized Testing and Reporting program for 2012, which showed an increase in proficiency levels for all subgroups, as well as the existence of an ongoing achievement gap.
So, over the last 40 years or so we have seen dramatic shifts in the achievement gap, with the first 20 years marked by significant reductions—coinciding, coincidentally, with major social and federal policy changes/investments—and the second 20-plus years fluctuating between a leveling off and incremental yet progressive gains for most students based on NAEP and state-level data.
And to complicate the search for a sound understanding of and definitive solution to eliminating the achievement gap, we have to also recognize that during this 40-year period, particularly the last 20 years, we have seen extraordinary changes in the constitution of families, unprecedented demographic shifts in California and across the country, a rewiring of the economy driven in part by the rapid acceleration of technology, and an explosion of mandates thrust upon schools, the national and state standards movement(s), multiple so-called reforms that include charter schools, No Child Left Behind, class-size reduction, etc., etc., etc. …
So, with all these intersecting pieces of data and potential influencers, how can we find the proper formula for eliminating the achievement gap? And, what role can board members play in achieving this ambitious goal?
I’m not convinced there is a Holy Grail for eliminating the achievement gap. After all, we know that many factors— from the student’s family socioeconomic standing to his/her mother’s education level, the presence of the father in the home, English language proficiency and much more—are among the indicators that impact student achievement. The achievement gap is not a one-sided problem—a simple test—but rather is a complex, multi-dimensional issue that is influenced by many factors that, if addressed individually or collectively, may result in different levels and types of success for different students that may not be realized immediately.
This is where you, as a governing board member, can make a difference. You can champion the need for authentic assessments and programs that help to recognize this multidimensional challenge. What is evident is that the foundation for narrowing the achievement gap is set through effective policymaking and implementation, supported by effective local governance. As a governing board leader, you play an important role in ensuring that we continue to forge ahead to narrow the achievement gap. With a firm belief in Governance First, I know we will eventually conquer this vexing problem. To do so, we must continually challenge ourselves to try to improve all facets of our public education system, keeping achievement at the forefront of policy discussions and ensuring we offer a well-rounded, rigorous education to all students. After all, the achievement gap is not one-dimensional.