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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You all realize that admin has had teachers looking at this data - compiling this data - for a number of years now? I'm a Moco teacher - I'm on my lunch right now, before anyone jumps on me for being on here during the school day. At my school, we [b]create specific student learning objectives each semester which target specific areas for student growth. We set a goal, measure the outcome and reflect on whether or not we met that goal. The goal is subject specific and can be assignment specific. Our targeted group of students is chosen based on how they perform on a certain task[/b]. We break down the numbers and look at demographics of that targeted group including FARMS, IEP/504, race, and recently exited from ESOL.

I'd post my data here, but do not want to compromise the identity of my school or students.

I can say this with certainty, based on the data I've collected in recent years: there is absolutely a correlation between lower performing students and race. Nearly every student in my targeted group - those who did not achieve a certain score for a specific rubric criteria - was non-white and non-Asian. Nearly all were Hispanic, African American, or mixed race. And I can tell you that as a white, middle class woman, I'm looking really hard at what I can do to better serve ALL of the students in my community.

- Teacher at a school with a 7/10 GS rating[/quote]

I think the best thing teachers can do, is to do  what you did as quoted in bold.

These are actions based on first-hand data targeted at each individuals, instead of those targeted at certain (racial/income) groups.

[b]As for the correlations of performance to race - politicians like those.  People who can benefit from those may also like these too - who those people are can change over time.[/b]
[/quote]

Yes, they do. Because I do not have the same students in my class year after year, or in some cases, even semester after semester.

However, that does not take away from the fact that there is a very real correlation between race and achievement on targeted tasks with specific objectives. I literally have at least 5 years of data - with different classes and students - to back this up.

Do not misunderstand me. I am giving help to everyone who needs it. The stressed out, UMC white girl who has an anxiety disorder; the Black boy who falls asleep in my class because he's working a job to help his family pay the bills; the Hispanic girl who just had a baby but came back 6 weeks after delivery. These are real kids in my classes right now - not fictitious case studies, not theoretical people. Real people. I am in this profession to nurture and to help them and try to get them to see the best in themselves and what they are capable of, no matter who they are or where they come from or what systematic barriers they might face. I firmly believe that saying that everyone is fighting a battle we can't see, so we must be kind. But some people have a lot more support when fighting those battles. They have parents who hire tutors, and advocates who show up for IEP meetings, and a support system in place. They have resources to help them figure out how to navigate difficulties. Not every kid has that.

So by all means, continue to argue over the achievement gap, whether it's real, our school boundaries, how teachers whine too much, and whatever else you want to debate here. I'll still be here - along with many of my intelligent, driven, passionate colleagues - loving your kids and trying to do right by them every single day. And then I'll go home to my own two children, whom I love more than I could ever express, and hope their teacher feels the same about them, and that she feels the same about every other child in her class.[/quote]

I would hope most teachers are like you and try to help students at whatever level they are at

We all know performance is tied to SES which is tied to race

The question is a policy question.  Should we even care about the achievement gap or should we do what you do and help students at whatever level they are at

You can close the achievement gap by boosting lower performers or stunting higher performers.  Limiting tracking, whether indirectly by creative zoning to increase SES/racial diversity within schools and actually eliminating tracking is one way to solve the gap but you have to sacrifice the performance of the higher performers

Personally I do not support that.[/quote]

instead of focusing on the gap we should be focusing on overall performance.   If all SES/racial levels are trending up that is a good thing.
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