Catching Up From the Weekend: What Will it Take to Close Achievement Gaps?
Terrific, agenda-setting piece in the New York Times Sunday magazine on the achievement gap and No Child Left Behind. It’s a must-read for anyone who wants to understand, let alone write about, inequality in education and what might be required to reduce it. By an editor at the magazine, Paul Tough, the article explores the ways economic and social class affects children, especially in terms of language development and attitudes toward schooling. The article goes on to effectively argue that schooling must be more effective and focused on helping poor children learn how to learn if the achievement gap is to shrink. Journalistically, the piece trusts readers to be willing to wrestle with the findings of education research in coming to grips with these issues. That’s an accomplishment right there.
By the way, the article also says that high quality early education is essential for closing achievement gaps. This has become a mantra of journalists of late. More attention to what high-quality pre-kindergarten looks like would be welcome too.
NOV
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Hi Richard. I have to comment on this piece because I almost went at it in my weblog.
Tough writes: "In the first few years of this decade, two parallel debates about the achievement gap have emerged. The first is about causes; the second is about cures. The first has been taking place in academia, among economists and anthropologists and sociologists who are trying to figure out exactly where the gap comes from, why it exists and why it persists. The second is happening among and around a loose coalition of schools, all of them quite new, all established with the goal of wiping out the achievement gap altogether."
Huh? Maybe Tough ought to actually visit a few academies and a few regular public schools before he makes that kind of claim. I work in a place where we focus long and hard on improving teaching, rather than showing yet again that poor kids are behind. Also, there are some regular public schools making progress--schools conveniently left out of this story.
I get the feeling he read through the NYT clips and just rereported the same things the Times always reports.
Posted by JennyD | November 30, 2006 12:43 PM
Richard,
After 12 years, the Carnegie Report, Starting Points, (http://www.carnegie.org/starting_points/startpt1.html) still has not been addressed in any significant way by educators or government. This compelling report made it clear then that 'current' research informs us of the significant damage to the brain that can result from poor prenatal and postnatal care within the first year of life not to mention the critical importance of nutritional and emotional nurturance in the first three years. Overcoming this pernicious effect of poverty is a monumental task but the report suggested clear recommendations for starting the process. The best educators in the best-run schools can't solve this problem when the child is 4 years old! Paul Tough's summary of current research about 'closing the gap' seemed thorough but it only acknowledged the 'Birth-Three' issue in one phrase near the end:
"It is not yet entirely clear what that system might look like — it might include not only KIPP-like structures and practices but also high-quality early-childhood education,..."
I would really be interested in your perspective on the Carnegie Report. What Early Intervention Programs have been put into place as a result of that report? Where are they? What follow-up studies have been done? How has the Federal Government responded to the report? Is the US still lagging far behind other industrialized nations in addressing this issue? This is the true SHAME of our society. Those who analyze test scores never get the point. The cycle of poverty puts generations at risk before they even enter this world. The Bell Curve tolls for thee...
Dave Marain
Posted by DaveM | December 1, 2006 5:10 AM