The data from that survey, published in by the U. General Accounting Office, showed that 41 percent of frequent school changers were below grade level in reading, as were 33 percent in math; these percentages were higher than those of students who had not changed schools. About 17 percent of all 3rd graders had already attended three or more schools; the rate for minority students was double the rate for white students. The need for active parent participation —strong interaction between parents and the school—is well recognized.
The online Child Trends Data Bank, in summarizing the research, concluded thatstudents with parents who are involved in their school tend to have fewer behavioral problems and better academic performance, and they are more likely to complete secondary school.
Most parents attend scheduled meetings with teachers, but parents of black and Hispanic students and low-income parents are much less likely than parents of white students are to attend a school event, do volunteer work, or serve on a committee.
Teachers in high-poverty schools are most likely to say that lack of parent involvement is a problem. Schools need to set the climate for strong connections with parents, and educators may need to put in extended effort with many low-income and single-parent families. One notable effort is the decision of New York City to have a home-school coordinator in every school—an initiative that comes with a large price tag.
The research identifies six school factors that are associated with achievement. The reader may be looking for such factors as the quality of leadership, pedagogy, and professional development. Although more research in these areas may well establish a relationship, however, I did not find that the existing research establishes a consensus on these factors. The rigor of the curriculum, unsurprisingly, has a clear association with student achievement. It is reassuring that the proportion of students taking more advanced courses in high school has steadily increased during the last couple of decades.
In addition, there have been large increases in students taking advanced placement AP courses. In the latter case, we can be fairly sure that the rigor of AP courses has remained relatively stable. However, it is harder to pin down whether Algebra II today is as rigorous as it was 20 years ago. And educators should be concerned that we are not getting the boost in achievement that we might expect from all this advanced course taking.
Having experienced teachers with at least five years of experience makes a difference in student achievement. Minority and low-income students are more likely to be taught by teachers with three or fewer years of experience and to be in schools with higher teacher turnover. Students are also exposed to less experienced teaching when substitutes must frequently fill in for absentee teachers.
Eleven percent of 12th grade students are in schools in which 6 to 10 percent of the teachers are absent on an average day; for minorities, the rate is more than double the rate for white students. Researchers have also found that teacher preparation affects student achievement. Students in high-poverty and high-minority schools are much more likely to be taught by out-of-field teachers. As Arthur Wise, president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, states,The dirty little secret is that there are large numbers of unqualified individuals teaching, and they are disproportionately assigned to teach children of color and children from impoverished backgrounds.
Although researchers have extensively studied the effects of class size on student achievement for decades and many states and localities are engaged in efforts to reduce class size, the debate on the return on such an investment still goes on.
However, I believe that most people would agree that at the very least, minority students ought to have classes as small as those of nonminority students. They don't: Classes with a high percentage of minority students are more likely to have 25 or more students. Educators have expected to reap great benefits from technology-assisted instruction , and computers have become ubiquitous in classrooms and in computer laboratories. Research has found beneficial results in the use of computers, although it has hardly examined all their different uses.
Computers have permeated schools with a high percentage of minority and poor students about as much as they have other schools. In the classroom, however, computers are somewhat less likely to be available to minority students than to nonminority students.
The gap widens in terms of Internet availability in the classroom, and it widens further in the case of more advanced uses, such as using the Internet to conduct research. Although 61 percent of students in schools with low minority enrollments were assigned such research in , this was true of only 35 percent of students in schools with high minority enrollments.
Similar discrepancies are found in schools with high proportions of low-income students. Unsafe schools, fear, and disruption are not conducive to learning. Research has shown that a positive disciplinary climate is directly linked to higher achievement.
The school learning climate is negatively affected by a range of student behaviors, including disrespect for teachers, absenteeism, use of alcohol and drugs, violence, and possession of firearms. For example, the percentage of minority students who fear an attack at school or on the way to school is double that of nonminority students. And more minority students than white students report that they avoid going to one or more places in the school because they believe it is unsafe.
What conditions, if we attend to them, will result in the largest improvement? Research has not provided a definitive answer to this question, nor can it probably do so. The well-known Coleman report is often cited as showing that family factors are more predominant than school factors in explaining differences in achievement between minority and nonminority students, but I do not believe that this is what that report established.
In a later paper, Policy Research in the Social Sciences, Coleman says something that I have never seen quoted:The plan of the analysis was not appropriate for study of the relative effects of background and school variables, but it was correct for study of the relative effects of different school variables [after background variables were held constant]. Clearly, both school and nonschool factors underlie the achievement gap.
Further, the conditions that improve learning in school and out of school are intertwined. For example, wealthy communities with families that place a high value on learning are likely to have strong schools, attract good teachers, and have healthy interactions between parents and teachers. Communities characterized by low family income are likely to have schools with fewer resources to attract highly qualified teachers. Research has also not established the degree to which action on one particular front can narrow a gap that was created on another front.
For example, it is well established that young children who are not read to will, on average, enter school with a handicap. But how much can extra attention, increased instructional time, tutors, and more highly trained and experienced teachers in the early school years make up for this lack?
These factors will help reduce the gap, but we don't know by exactly how much. Unfortunately, we do know that minority students and poor students will be getting less of this richer schooling than the average student, not more. Another example is a malnourished child who entered the world at a below-average birthweight and now has health problems and decaying teeth. Will high standards, test-based accountability, and higher-quality teaching boost this child's achievement enough to eliminate the gap?
Not likely, although these actions are likely to raise his or her achievement. A health and nutrition policy is a learning policy and should be recognized as such. Closing the gap must be more than a one-front operation. Educators must hold ourselves responsible and accountable for improving schools when and where we can.
At the same time, we must recognize that the achievement gap has deep roots. Governments, communities, neighborhoods, and families have the responsibility to create conditions that remove barriers to cognitive development and support learning in the home. Child Trends Data Bank. Parent involvement in schools [Online].
Available: www. Christakis, D. Early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics, 4 , — Coleman, J. Policy research in the social sciences. College Board. Princeton, NJ: Author. Grossman, K. Poorest kids often wind up with the weakest teachers.
Chicago Sun-Times [Online]. Hart, B. Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore: Paul H.
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