Achievement Gap

[Anonymous]

I agree the .05% gain for the next 12 years would seem useless. But aren't we relying on statistics that is prior to current data? We set achievable goals and many laugh because they were seemingly too high. Now the system is sharing .05% increase and we still want to laugh. It is no longer funny.

[Anonymous]

We could start by stopping punishing teachers who know how to reach out and teach these kids. There is so much teaching to the test and focus on rigor but when most of the students are 4 grades levels and more below, you have to stop and go back and teach the fundamentals.

[Anonymous]

15:56 I have been saying this about my daughters' math classes at her school for years! In 7th grade she was in the advanced math class but still only getting proficient (although close to Adv)on the math portion of DCCAS. Obviously, she is/was missing some fundamentals. I told the teacher that maybe she should consider having a few lessons each week on the basics (adding/subtr fractions, decimals, percentages, word problems, etc). She did follow my advice and said she saw improvement with just those exercises that she did in class. Not sure how it translated to the DC CAS though. Maybe I'll suggest that to the principal for next year. I don't see the sense in knowing "advanced math concepts" if the students can't do the fundamentals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11:08, Thanks for the input. Yes, I was originally thinking about getting more than just the low performing AA students and parents together and make this a school wide effort to help close the gap. I don't have a specific percentage that I would like to see achieved. Just movement in a positive direction. I will speak with the principal and see what the school is trying to do, if anything at all. In the meantime, I will work with my neighborhood school(they were only at 50% proficient) and recreation center to inquire about setting up some intensive academic assistance.

What you say makes sense to me, but it is not the DCPS party line. Henderson e.t al. have centered their reforms completely around teacher effectiveness - with parental input not considered. DCPS has instituted the IMPACT evaluation system that rates and pays teachers based on their students' DC-CAS scores, with the thinking that this will motivate teachers to 'teach harder' or be fired. Parents are immaterial. It's all up to the teachers.

DCPS ignores the fact that high SES kids consistently score higher. They remain firm in their belief that they can turn this around simply be intimidating and motivating teachers.

It's a dumb idea that is not working, but still they continue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you find out what the problems are, can you address them? It is wonderful for the reach out and concern but what can you do with such an over-whelming outcome? Why not gather the AA parents who are doing things positive and reach out collectively to all. Therefore, the good, better and best scenario will encompass all to be continually successful. I applaud the outreach but I am apprehensive in the approach. I am assuming as an individual you will include those who are employed with DCPS to facilitate such a meeting?

As for the gap, is it the goal to close it gradually? Can we look at the overall improvement as miniscule it is of .05% and build upon it? There's not a parent who doesn't want the best for their child in the realm of education. We have become the microwave generation. Put in, push buttons, set the time and produce a proficient child....beep! Then if not good enough, reheat and produce an advance child.


10:08, I can't put my finger on it, but your post hit a nerve. Can you explain more...

The thing is, if you are willing to accept 0.5% improvement a year, then the school system will only improve by 6% in the 12 years your child is in school. That's not enough when less than half the kids are proficient.

In today's Washington Post article about the scores, the Chancellor essentially said the slow increase is OK by her: "“I can’t live or die by annual test scores”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you find out what the problems are, can you address them? It is wonderful for the reach out and concern but what can you do with such an over-whelming outcome? Why not gather the AA parents who are doing things positive and reach out collectively to all. Therefore, the good, better and best scenario will encompass all to be continually successful. I applaud the outreach but I am apprehensive in the approach. I am assuming as an individual you will include those who are employed with DCPS to facilitate such a meeting?

As for the gap, is it the goal to close it gradually? Can we look at the overall improvement as miniscule it is of .05% and build upon it? There's not a parent who doesn't want the best for their child in the realm of education. We have become the microwave generation. Put in, push buttons, set the time and produce a proficient child....beep! Then if not good enough, reheat and produce an advance child.


10:08, I can't put my finger on it, but your post hit a nerve. Can you explain more...

The thing is, if you are willing to accept 0.5% improvement a year, then the school system will only improve by 6% in the 12 years your child is in school. That's not enough when less than half the kids are proficient.

In today's Washington Post article about the scores, the Chancellor essentially said the slow increase is OK by her: "“I can’t live or die by annual test scores”

But teachers can be fired as a result of lower test scores

[Anonymous]

Well said 18:42.

[Anonymous]

I think we are talking apples and oranges. With regard to latinos, I think it will be the same as with other immigrants, who have historically always closed the achievement gap within a generation to become integrated and successful. With the AA community, however, it's been multi-generational. Yes, a fundamental paradigm shift in AA culture is needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some families/parent(s) who do not care about education and do not value it. They themselves did not get educated and are "doing ok" meaning getting by on a low wage job with government support. It's hard for a child who lives that way. That's their "normal" and you are basically having to say that their family and parents are not normal.

I think the gap grows larger because the kids who are average or above average achievers also have parents who are highly vested in making sure their child gets more than just the standard education in the classroom. When you have children then who are getting hours of outside learning whether it be via direct instruction in activities, tutoring, etc or from just interaction with parents, it is almost impossible for the child who is just getting the standard education at school to keep up.

I think that many schools and principals get caught up in trying to implement programs and plans with catchy names and titles when what is likely needed is serious repetitive teaching of basic skills until those kids who are lagging get caught up.

I agree, but the higher-achieving children will struggle and flee from a drill and kill environment. That is why our city needs options for gifted children in order to help everyone. It is impossible to effectively teach children at so many different levels in the same classroom without at least some pull-out periods for differentiation. This process will go much more quickly as soon as everyone realizes this very simple fact and stops calling such standard programs racist or classist.

DCPS reformers disagree with this. According to their institutionalized belief system, an effective well-paid teacher can teach differentiated lessons to kids at various levels who are all in the same classroom. In fact, the reformers think that a really good teacher can take on more and more kids in the same classroom and still do a great job reaching all the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we are talking apples and oranges. With regard to latinos, I think it will be the same as with other immigrants, who have historically always closed the achievement gap within a generation to become integrated and successful. With the AA community, however, it's been multi-generational. Yes, a fundamental paradigm shift in AA culture is needed.

Also true of Native Americans (the achievement gap problem); however, you don't hear much about NAs as a group become they are not statistically significant as a group/population in most states. Yes, there are cultural issues just like AAs but there is also structural problems and hurdles that have existed for generations for both populations that were not faced by immigrants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are some families/parent(s) who do not care about education and do not value it. They themselves did not get educated and are "doing ok" meaning getting by on a low wage job with government support. It's hard for a child who lives that way. That's their "normal" and you are basically having to say that their family and parents are not normal.

I think the gap grows larger because the kids who are average or above average achievers also have parents who are highly vested in making sure their child gets more than just the standard education in the classroom. When you have children then who are getting hours of outside learning whether it be via direct instruction in activities, tutoring, etc or from just interaction with parents, it is almost impossible for the child who is just getting the standard education at school to keep up.

I think that many schools and principals get caught up in trying to implement programs and plans with catchy names and titles when what is likely needed is serious repetitive teaching of basic skills until those kids who are lagging get caught up.

I agree, but the higher-achieving children will struggle and flee from a drill and kill environment. That is why our city needs options for gifted children in order to help everyone. It is impossible to effectively teach children at so many different levels in the same classroom without at least some pull-out periods for differentiation. This process will go much more quickly as soon as everyone realizes this very simple fact and stops calling such standard programs racist or classist.

DCPS reformers disagree with this. According to their institutionalized belief system, an effective well-paid teacher can teach differentiated lessons to kids at various levels who are all in the same classroom. In fact, the reformers think that a really good teacher can take on more and more kids in the same classroom and still do a great job reaching all the kids.

Define "the reformers.". My bet is that you are talking about the political reflection of our population and not the educated parents that are trying to help DCPS dig itself out of its grave.

[Anonymous]

This is not a racial gap, it is a SES gap. DC has almost no low income white students, and for every upper middle class black student, there are 100+ very, very poor, black students. I am quite positive that no other state has such a small proportion of poor white students and such a large proportion of poor black students.

[Anonymous]

I'm white and I taught in a DCPS high school for 5 years. One of the most troubling things to witness is hearing students say to one another, "Why are you acting so white?" when that person is trying to study or even when they were carrying books around. I know the circumstances these kids were coming form and very few (if any) of them had the support to tell them to persevere. The ONLY kids I saw who were able to make marginal gains were ones who were willing to lose all of their friends and go it alone. How many kids who are struggling with food and housing and possibly abusive and/or absent parents have the wherewithal to lose their last sense of security- their friends. This type of rhetoric also implies that they will lose their cultural identity, too, if they become "too smart".

The only antidote to that is to take each promising child and back-fill a safety net so they have the space and support in which to grow. It is a piece-by-piece, laborious and time consuming process that does not lend itself to easy metrics.

[Anonymous]

My child at Deal has heard the "acting white" barb from other AA students. She has a diverse group of friends with a similar mindset about doing well in school. But i do worry about how those comments could affect her as she gets older.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you are aware and involved with your daughter and she has the support of like-minded peers. There is also obvious, visible diversity at Deal so she can see that "white" is not equal to "horrible". So she has a set of tools to cope with the barbs and a support system that won't let her accept it or fall prey to it.