CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP University of the State of New York Albany, NY November, 2005

Every year, thousands of children head toward school already behind.

2005 NAEP Grade 4 Reading All Students, Nation Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer,

2005 NAEP Grade 4 Reading by Race/Ethnicity, Nation Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer,

2005 NAEP Grade 4 Reading by Family Income, Nation Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer,

Sadly, rather than organizing our educational system to ameliorate this problem, we organize it to exacerbate the problem.

How? By giving students who arrive with less, less in school, too.

Some of these “lesses” are a result of choices that policymakers make.

New York: Universal Pre-K? AgePercent Served in HS, UPK, EPK 4 year olds56% 3 year olds14%

New York State: Huge Inequities in State and Local Revenue Per Student GapNational Rank High Poverty vs. Low Poverty Districts -$2,040 per student #1 High Minority vs. Low Minority Districts -$1,797 per student #3 Source: The Funding Gap, 2004, by Kevin Carey. Data are for 2002

Gaps of This Sort Translate Into… Per Typical Classroom of 25 -$65,375 Per Typical Elementary School of 400 -$1,046,000

Even at the higher education level, we spend less per student in the institutions where most low-income students start. Expenditures per student 2 Year Colleges$9,183 4 Year Colleges$27,973 Source: NCES Digest of Education Statistics, 2003

But some of these “lesses” are a function of choices that we educators make.

Source: Prospects (ABT Associates, 1993), in “Prospects: Final Report on Student Outcomes”, PES, DOE, Students in Poor Schools Receive ‘A’s for Work That Would Earn ‘Cs’ in Affluent Schools

Source: CCSSO, State Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education, 2001 Fewer Latino students are enrolled in Algebra 2

Math and Science Classes of Mostly Minority Students Are More Often Taught by Misassigned Teachers Source: Jeannie Oakes. Multiplying Inequalities: The Effects of Race, Social Class, and Tracking on Opportunities to Learn Mathematics and Science (Rand: 1990)

Poor and Minority Students Get More Inexperienced* Teachers *Teachers with 3 or fewer years of experience. “High” and “low” refer to top and bottom quartiles. Source: National Center for Education Statistics, “Monitoring Quality: An Indicators Report,” December 2000.

New York State: Low Income Students 4 Times as Likely to be Taught by Teachers Not Certified in Any of their Current Assignments Lankford, Loeb and Wykoff. “Teacher Sorting and the Plight of Urban Schools: A Descriptive Analysis.” 2002

New York State: Minority Students 3 Times as Likely to be Taught by Teachers Who Failed Licensure Exams at Least Once Lankford, Loeb and Wykoff. “Teacher Sorting and the Plight of Urban Schools: A Descriptive Analysis.” 2002

Results are devastating. Kids who come in a little behind, leave a lot behind.

By end of high school?

African American and Latino 17 Year-Olds Do Math at Same Levels As White 13 Year-Olds

African American and Latino 17 Year-Olds Read at Same Levels As White 13 Year-Olds

These patterns are reflected, too, in high school completion, college entry and college graduation rates.

Students Graduate From High School At Different Rates, 2001* * 4-Year Graduation Rates Source: Jay P. Greene and Greg Forster, “Public High School Graduation and College Readiness Rates in the United States,” Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, September 2003.

Of Every 100 White Kindergartners: (25-to 29-Year-Olds) Source: US Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. March Current Population Surveys, , in The Condition of Education 2002.

Of Every 100 African American Kindergartners: (25-to 29-Year-Olds) Source: US Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. March Current Population Survey, , In The Condition of Education 2002.

Of Every 100 Latino Kindergartners : (25-to 29-Year-Olds) Source: US Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. March Current Population Surveys, , In The condition of Education 2002.

Of Every 100 American Indian/Alaskan Native Kindergartners: (24 Year Olds)

College Graduates by Age 26 Source: Tom Mortenson, Post Secondary Opportunity, 2004.

These patterns are part —but by no means all— of the reason why we are falling behind other developed countries.

TIMSS

Source: NCES R, Highlights From TIMSS

PISA

US 15 Year-Olds Rank Near Middle Of The Pack Among 32 Participating Countries: 1999

2003: U.S. Ranked 24 th out of 29 OECD Countries in Mathematics Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PISA 2003 Results, data available at

Problems are not limited to our high-poverty and high-minority schools...

U.S. Ranks Low in the Percent of Students in the Highest Achievement Level (Level 6) in Math Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PISA 2003 Results, data available at

U.S. Ranks 23 rd out of 29 OECD Countries in the Math Achievement of the Highest- Performing Students* * Students at the 95 th Percentile Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PISA 2003 Results, data available at

U.S. Ranks 23 rd out of 29 OECD Countries in the Math Achievement of High-SES Students Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PISA 2003 Results, data available at

Problems not limited to math, either.

2003 PISA Problem-Solving Results: US #23 Source: OECD, PISA. Problem Solving for Today’s World. 2004

55% of our 15 year olds at problem-solving level 1 or below. Closest other country? LATVIA

There is one measure on which we rank high. Inequality!

Source: OECD, Knowledge and Skills for Life: First Results From PISA 2000, *Of 27 OECD countries Performance Of U.S. 15 Year-Olds Highly Variable

But don’t we “make it up by having the best higher education system in the world” and “sending far more of our young people to college” than anybody else?

Education Attainment: Then and Now 1970s 2003 Tertiary Completion*#1 #7 OECD-Education at a Glance (Sept 2005)

College Completion Over Time United States30%39% Ireland20%48% Canada30%45% Spain16%36% United Kingdom 19%29%

College Graduates Last Year China2.5 million India 2.3 million US 1.3 million

Can we do better?

What We Hear Many Educators Say: They’re poor; Their parents don’t care; They come to schools without breakfast; Not enough books Not enough parents...

The Postsecondary Equivalent? They enter without the necessary skills; They have to work to support their families; Their peers and families don’t support and value their struggle…

But if they are right, why are low- income students and students of color performing so high in some schools…

Central Elementary Paintsville, KY

Central Elementary 71% Low-Income 99% White Outperformed the district and state in 4th grade reading and 5th grade math in 2003 Made considerable gains in 4th grade reading and 5th grade math scores

Making Gains at Central 4th Grade Reading Source: The Department of Education,

Making Gains at Central 5 th Grade Math Source: The Department of Education,

Centennial Place Elementary School Atlanta, Georgia 92% African American 64% Low-Income Performed in the top 2% of Georgia schools in 4 th grade reading in 2003 Performed in top 7 % of Georgia schools in 4 th grade math in 2003 Source: Georgia Department of Education, Dispelling the Myth Online, School Information Partnership,

High Achievement at Centennial Place 2004 Reading Composite Source: Georgia Department of Education,

High Achievement at Centennial Place 2004 Math Composite Source: Georgia Department of Education,

University Park High School Worcester, MA Grades 7-12; 70+% poverty; 50% ELL; Most students enter at least two grade levels behind.

University Park Results: 2004 Only one 10 th grader didn’t pass MA high school exit exam on first attempt (turned out, didn’t attend the school). 87% passed at advanced or proficient level. Fifth most successful school in the state, surpassing many schools serving wealthy students.

Source: Education Trust analysis of data from National School-Level State Assessment Score Database (

Source: Education Trust analysis of data from National School-Level State Assessment Score Database (

Source: Education Trust analysis of data from National School-Level State Assessment Score Database (

Source: Education Trust analysis of data from National School-Level State Assessment Score Database ( Data are from 2002.

Poverty vs. Achievement in New York: 4 th Grade Math

Guess What? Also very big differences in college results…even among those who serve “same” kinds of students.

Doc/Research Institutions With Similar Students Getting Different Results Median SAT Size% PellOverall 6 Yr-Grad Rate White/URM Grad Rate Gap Penn State119533,97519%83%-14% Univ of Wisconsin ,71112%76%-21% Texas A & M ,90114%75%-9% Univ of Washington ,05921%71%-11% Univ of Minnesota ,27316%54%-19%

Masters Level Institutions With Similar Students Getting Different Results Median SAT Size% PellOverall 6 Yr-Grad Rate URM 6-Yr Grad Rate Millersville U of PA %66%46% SUNY at Plattsburgh %59%52% NW MO State %53%44% Northern Michigan U %45%38% Steven Austin (TX) %35%30%

Bac General/Masters Institutions With Similar Students Getting Different Results Median SAT Size% PellOverall 6 Yr-Grad Rate URM 6-Yr Grad Rate Elizabeth City (NC) %51%54% Kentucky State %39%44% Fayetteville State (NC) %38%39% U of Ark Pine Bluff %31% Coppin State (MD) %22%

Bottom Line: At Every Level of Education, What We Do Matters A Lot!

Doing More New York

In recent years, New York has made important strides in raising achievement, especially among low-income students and students of color. Between 1998 and 2005, for example, state was 3 rd in reading growth among African American 4 th graders and 2 nd in growth among Latino 4 th graders.

But serious challenges remain.

2005 NAEP Grade 4 Reading All Students, New York Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer,

2005 NAEP Grade 4 Reading by Race/Ethnicity, New York Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer,

2005 NAEP Grade 8 Math All Students, New York Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer,

2005 NAEP Grade 8 Math by Race/Ethnicity, New York Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer,

NY: 9 th Graders Graduating 4 Years Later (2004) Graduated Asian68.8% Black45.4% Latino42% White81% Includes both Regents and Local Diplomas; Source, NYSED

New York vs. Top 5 States New YorkTop States HS Freshmen entering any US College 34%52% Community College Freshmen returning second year 61% Freshmen at 4-year colleges returning second year 81%84% First-time freshmen completing BA in 6 years 55%64%

Frosh vs. Degrees, NY Statewide (2002) FreshmenDegrees Black21,21410,710 Asian10,5237,419 Latino18,8137,988 White95,42563,879

6 Year Graduation Rate at Largest State University: SUNY Buffalo Black42% Asian52% Latino45% Native American50% White57%

Changing these patterns is not about one more program. This is about whole systems.

But remember, that’s us.

We are the ones who decide: Whether to move resources toward pre-k; What to expect of whom and which assignments to give; Which courses to require students to take; Whether to use our institutional aid dollars to increase opportunity for low-income students…or to buy more students who can increase our ratings points…

Perhaps most important of all, WE are the ones who decide who teaches whom. And whether are courageous enough to take on this perverse status hierarchy in our profession where status flows not from how good a teacher you are…but from how elite the kids are that you teach.

Why Does All This Matter? What’s at Stake? Just one example.

Nationally, there are 772 colleges where at least 5% of the undergraduates are black. In 299 of those, the six-year graduation rates for black students are less than 30%; In 164, the six-year graduation rates for black students are less than 20%; In 68, the six-year graduation rates for black students are less than 10%.

In colleges where more than 5% of students are Latino… 25% have 6-year graduation rates for Latinos less than 30%.

Surely we can do better.

There are now about 890,000 African Americans between 25 and 34 who hold BA Degree If we could simply cut the black-white graduation rate gap in half, the number of black college grads would grow by 10,000 per year.

Over a decade, that would produce 100,00 more African Americans with access to opportunities currently denied.

If we went further, and closed the gap, we could produce 200,000 more African Americans with such access.

Similar improvement for Latino students would mean thousands more Latino graduates IN NEW YORK ALONE!

The Education Trust Download this Presentation Washington, DC: Oakland, CA: