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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Let's be clear: The size of the achievement gap is not important. The important metric is the low rate of mastery among struggling students. Any talk of shifting the demographics to close the achievement gap entirely misses the point (and belies an attitude that mindlessly buys into the rhetoric of NCLB).[/quote]
The talk about demographics is about alleviating concentrations of poverty.  If you look at scores for Ward 3 Northwest schools, or even more significantly schools like Ross and Brent, you see that AA and econ-disadvantaged groups do far better than their peers at schools with higher poverty rates.

Unless you set up a KIPP like program and provide significantly more resources, the quickest way to improve schools is to attract (not force) non econ-disadvantaged families to enroll in a given school.  One way to jump start that process it through magnets or another program that provides a measure of security for progressive parents to give it a chance.

It appears DCPS may be doing this with its McKinley MS magnet (although there is almost zero info from DCPS on this new program).

While creating a selective program would be resisted for the reasons cited on this thread and others, if city leaders simply allow gentrification (or whatever the technical term is) to change things, there is potential for even more acrimony as neighborhood groups organize and hold hands together when they jump in and try to fix schools.
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