Schott Foundation's 2009 report on Opportunity to Learn

The most recent report from the Schott Foundation, Lost Opportunity: A 50 State Report on the Opportunity to Learn in America , "employs a state-by-state comparison of academic proficiency as illustrated by the percentage of students scoring at or above proficiency on the eighth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress reading exam and access to high-performing schools as measured by the Opportunity to Learn Index (OTLI)." Unfortunately, Nevada falls into the lowest category (with 8 other states and the District of Columbia) that " provide neither a moderately proficient school system nor equitable access to the systems' best schools or resources." (from the web site: http://www.otlstatereport.org/national/summary/intro#staterankings)

College graduation rates for African Americans and Latinos don't need to lag

Two new reports from Education Trust find that there are ways to close the historically large gaps between college graduation rates for minority groups compared to those of white students. Institutions of similar student body make-up have been able to close or even reverse the gaps through consistent utilization of "transition programs for at-risk students and 'early warning' systems that alert officials to struggling students," according to this overview of the two reports in today's (Aug. 10) Inside Higher Ed.

Fewer Latino students attend 4-year colleges

According to a recent article in Education Week, "When Latinos go to college, they are less likely than any other major racial or ethnic group to attend a four-year college or university, according to an unpublished analysis of federal education data by the Pew Hispanic Center." Recent trends suggest that the higher education prospects for students from low-income families are getting worse--"Overall, the proportion of college-eligible, low-income students across the nation who are going to four-year colleges or universities is declining, according to a federal report sent to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education last month by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which gives Congress advice on student financial aid policy" But Latinos seem to be particularly vulnerable--"48 percent of Latinos who are first-time, full-time college freshmen enroll in four-year institutions. That’s the lowest proportion of any major racial or ethnic group, Richard Fry, a senior research associate for the Washington-based Pew Hispanic Center, found in an analysis of 2008 data from the federally administered Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Meanwhile, the proportion of students enrolling in four-year institutions is 69 percent for Asian or Pacific Islander students, 66 percent for whites, 54 percent for blacks, and 53 percent for American Indians or Alaska Natives." However, a recent study conducted in California find that fairly low-cost mentoring interventions can significantly increase the percentage of such at-risk students attending college.

High quality schools CAN close the achievement gap for the poorest minority students

What Works Clearinghouse reviewed this study and found it to meet their evidentiary standards. This was a study of the Promise Academy Middle School in Harlem which provided:

• Extended school day and year with additional after-school tutoring and Saturday classes
• Intensive test preparation including morning, mid-day, after-school, and Saturday sessions
• Student incentives for high achievement, such as money and trips to France
• School health clinic provides students free medical, dental, and mental-health services

Sixth graders were admitted by lottery and showed significant improvements on math and English Language Arts on standardized tests by the 8th grade. The full report is here.
Citation:
Dobbie, W., & Fryer, R. G., Jr., (2009). Are high-quality schools enough to close the achievement gap? Evidence from a social experiment in Harlem. (NBER Working Paper No. 15473). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Culture and the Interaction of Student Ethnicity with Reward Structure in Group Learning

Interesting study reviewed in the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). Elementary students (4th & 5th grade) were randomly assigned to receive an individual reward, a reward based on group performance, or no reward. The evaluation found that individual rewards led to higher achievement among white students but lower performance among African- American students. This was a study of math learning skills (multiplication). The WWC brief review is here. The full citation is:
Hurley, E. A., Allen, B. A., & Boykin, A. W. (2009). Culture and the interaction of student ethnicity with reward structure in group learning. Cognition and Instruction, 27(2), 121–146.
The article is available through the libraries' electronic journal subscriptions.

Interventions to Reduce Stereotype Threat in the Classroom

Stereotype threat arises from a fear among members of a group of reinforcing negative stereotypes about the intellectual ability of the group. The report identifies three randomized controlled trial studies that use classroom-based strategies to reduce stereotype threat and improve the academic performance of Black students, narrowing their achievement gap with White students.

Writing assignments can improve minority school achievement

A recently published study finds that personal writing assignments can improve both improve GPA and reduce the level of grade remediation. This is particularly effective for low achieving African American students. You can see the full article here.
Geoffrey L. Cohen,^1* Julio Garcia,¹ Valerie Purdie-Vaughns,² Nancy Apfel,³ Patricia Brzustoski³ (2009). Recursive processes in self-affirmation: Intervening to close the minority achievement gap. Science, Vol. 324. no. 5925, pp. 400 - 403

Black-White achievement gaps persist

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences has released a new report analyzing Black-White achievement gaps at both the national and state levels, using NAEP scores as a common yardstick. The study examines data from all main NAEP mathematics and reading assessments through 2007, supplemented by data from long-term trend NAEP results through 2004. Readers will find context for understanding these gaps, as the report examines both the changes in the performance of Black and White students and the changes in the Black-White achievement gap over time.

NAEP at a glance

"The Nation's Report Card: 2007 At A Glance" is a new brochure that provides an overview of the NAEP activities surrounding the math, reading, and writing assessments. "At a Glance" summarizes the results of each 2007 assessment for the nation, states, and selected urban districts [Las Vegas is not one of the 11 urban districts reported--pm].

The results presented in "At a Glance" examine the change over time in average scores for all students, in addition to the changes in the gender and racial/ethnic achievement gaps observed in the 2007 assessments. The brochure pairs these results with instructive graphics to help you understand the findings. "At a Glance" also notes how many students at each grade level participated in the assessments and breaks down percentages of certain demographic details of participants, including race/ethnicity, school type, and percentage of accommodated students. Find the "At a Glance" publication at
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009486

Who gets advanced degrees?

Of people age 25 or older who live in the United States but who were born elsewhere, 10.9 percent have an advanced degree, while only 9.9 percent of those born in the United States have one. That statistic is among many found in "Educational Attainment in the United States, 2007," a new report by the U.S. Census Bureau. Men remain more likely than women to have an advanced degree. Among racial and ethnic groups, 19.6 percent of Asian Americans have an advanced degree, followed by 11.3 percent of non-Hispanic white people, 5.8 percent of black people, and 3.9 percent of Hispanics. (from Inside Higher Education, "Quick Takes,"Jan 29, 2009)

NCES reports surprising findings on homework

Following a cohort of children who were in Kindergarten in 1998-99, this study looked at homework assigned in 1st, 3rd & 5th grade.
"Children in schools with higher percentages of minority students had teachers who expected more homework on a typical evening, whereas generally children in lower minority schools had teachers who expected less homework. In addition, in all three grades, larger percentages of Black, Asian, and Hispanic children than White children had parents who reported that their child did homework five or more times a week."
Full report available here: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009033

Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives: 2008

"This report examines both the educational progress of American Indian/Alaska Native children and adults and challenges in their education. It shows that over time more American Indian/Alaska Native students have gone on to college and that their attainment expectations have increased. Despite these gains, progress has been uneven and differences persist between American Indian/Alaska Native students and students of other racial/ethnic groups on key indicators of educational performance." (Description from website)

SAT's show increasing minority and income gaps

An article in the August 25th Inside Higher Education reports that there are growing gaps between the scores of white and Asian students, who show modest increases, and other minority groups, who are showing decreases over time. There are also marked discrepancies between scores based on family income, with students from higher income factors achieving markedly higher scores.

Condition of Education 2008 - now available

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released "The Condition of Education 2008," a congressionally mandated report that provides an annual portrait of education in the United States. The 43 indicators included in this year's report cover all aspects of education, from early childhood through postsecondary education and from student achievement to school environment and resources. Among the report's findings:

* This year, public school enrollment is expected to approach about 50 million students. Total public school enrollment is projected to set new records each year from 2008 to 2017, at which time it is expected to reach 54.1 million.

* Minority students make up 43 percent of the public school enrollment overall and 48 percent in the South and 55 percent in the West.

* In 2005–06, about a third of Black students and a third of Hispanic students attended high-poverty schools compared with 4 percent of White students.

* Average reading scores of 4th- and 8th-graders were higher in 2007 than in 1992.

* Average mathematics scores increased 27 points for 4th-graders and 19 points for 8th-graders between 1990 and 2007.

* Among public high school students in the class of 2005, about three-fourths graduated on time.

* Since 1970, women's undergraduate enrollment has increased over three times as fast as men's. Currently, women make up 57 percent of undergraduate enrollment.

* In 2006, young adults with a bachelor's degree earned about $11,000 more than those with an associate’s degree, about $16,000 more than those who had completed high school, and more than twice as much than those who did not earn a high school diploma.

The full text of "The Condition of Education 2008," along with related data tables and indicators from previous years, can be viewed at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe

Helping everyone graduate

This article today in Inside Higher Ed discusses a newly released report from Education Sector which documents some astounding gaps in the college graduation rates of black versus white students--often as high as 25-35 percentage points. And neither race nor money are the real issues--attention to the students is! The article offers concrete suggestions for helping schools improve minority graduation rates.