Addressing the Achievement Gap Amy Ewing ECON 539 March 10, 2008 Amy Ewing ECON 539 March 10, 2008

Poverty is Poison  Times article by Paul Krugman  17.4 M children live in poverty in the US  Reported neuroscience findings that childhood poverty can cause the release of stress hormones that impair development  Is this something we already know?  Times article by Paul Krugman  17.4 M children live in poverty in the US  Reported neuroscience findings that childhood poverty can cause the release of stress hormones that impair development  Is this something we already know?

Coleman Report  1966 study titled Equality in Educational Opportunity Study  Foundation for many, many subsequent reports on inequality in education  Extensive analysis of students, teachers and facilities  Found schools to be extremely segregated  Found students to achieve at the same level as peers  1966 study titled Equality in Educational Opportunity Study  Foundation for many, many subsequent reports on inequality in education  Extensive analysis of students, teachers and facilities  Found schools to be extremely segregated  Found students to achieve at the same level as peers

Equality in Educational Opportunity Revisited  Followed Coleman Report approach  Gathered data from Texas  Found schools to be more integrated than Coleman but with pockets of segregated schools in central cities  Texas 1994: only 16% of Anglos enrolled at schools with a student body composed 90% or more of Anglo students  Used regression analysis to determine strong correlation between high teacher quality and high income students  Followed Coleman Report approach  Gathered data from Texas  Found schools to be more integrated than Coleman but with pockets of segregated schools in central cities  Texas 1994: only 16% of Anglos enrolled at schools with a student body composed 90% or more of Anglo students  Used regression analysis to determine strong correlation between high teacher quality and high income students

School Quality and the Black White Achievement Gap  Used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey  Determined:  high levels of student turnover impair achievement for both blacks and whites through eighth grade  a high percentage of teachers with little experience impairs all students, particularly blacks and elementary school aged students  a high percentage of black students in the school population correlates with an impairment in student achievement, especially for blacks  Used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey  Determined:  high levels of student turnover impair achievement for both blacks and whites through eighth grade  a high percentage of teachers with little experience impairs all students, particularly blacks and elementary school aged students  a high percentage of black students in the school population correlates with an impairment in student achievement, especially for blacks

Schooling Inequality and Language Barriers  Sampled from a survey of Mexican households  Found a strong, negative correlation between the child of a mother who speaks only an indigenous language (and not Spanish) and school achievement  Reasons are unclear  Sampled from a survey of Mexican households  Found a strong, negative correlation between the child of a mother who speaks only an indigenous language (and not Spanish) and school achievement  Reasons are unclear

The Case for Achievement Gaps  Used data from the National Education Longitudinal Study to create multiple regressions and find the best-fit model  The best-fit models for whites, blacks and Hispanics were very similar to one another  Lots of overlapping variables  Coefficients proceeded in the same direction  Used data from the National Education Longitudinal Study to create multiple regressions and find the best-fit model  The best-fit models for whites, blacks and Hispanics were very similar to one another  Lots of overlapping variables  Coefficients proceeded in the same direction

Reversing the Progress toward Equity?  Supports argument for achievement gaps  Used data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and SAT  Despite overall achievement between 1971 and 1999, the gap widened after 1986  Changes in achievement corresponded to the dominance of different educational paradigms  Not clear why some groups suffer when different goals are emphasized  Supports argument for achievement gaps  Used data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and SAT  Despite overall achievement between 1971 and 1999, the gap widened after 1986  Changes in achievement corresponded to the dominance of different educational paradigms  Not clear why some groups suffer when different goals are emphasized

The Gap Widens with Age?  Used a new dataset (Childhood Development Supplement and Panel Study of Income Dynamics) and a new model (indirect production function)  In the production function, inputs are related to family, school and environment  Found achievement gap to exist at younger ages and close with aging  Finding is counterintuitive  Used a new dataset (Childhood Development Supplement and Panel Study of Income Dynamics) and a new model (indirect production function)  In the production function, inputs are related to family, school and environment  Found achievement gap to exist at younger ages and close with aging  Finding is counterintuitive

Addressing the Gap No Child Left Behind  2001 Act is cornerstone of education policy  Reauthorized 1965 act and added provisions to allow school vouchering and to call for accountability of students and teachers  Subject of criticism  Relies too much on standardized criteria  Penalizes underperforming (low-income, minority) schools  2001 Act is cornerstone of education policy  Reauthorized 1965 act and added provisions to allow school vouchering and to call for accountability of students and teachers  Subject of criticism  Relies too much on standardized criteria  Penalizes underperforming (low-income, minority) schools

Unintended Effects of NCLB - Teacher Quality  Five major findings:  States do not have the ability to collect data on teacher quality  Great disparities in teaching quality between districts, with low-income students more likely to be taught by under-qualified teachers.  The schools that needed improvement were also the ones with the highest percentage of unqualified teachers.  Appealing for teachers to move away from low- performing schools as the result of NCLB sanctions  Does not allow for flexibility in state differences  Five major findings:  States do not have the ability to collect data on teacher quality  Great disparities in teaching quality between districts, with low-income students more likely to be taught by under-qualified teachers.  The schools that needed improvement were also the ones with the highest percentage of unqualified teachers.  Appealing for teachers to move away from low- performing schools as the result of NCLB sanctions  Does not allow for flexibility in state differences

Unintended Consequences of NCLB - Charter Schools  Used data from the North Carolina Education Research Data Center and applied a conditional logit method  Determined students move to student populations more similar to their own race and socio-economic status despite lower levels of student achievement  3 reasons:  Residential segregation  Cultural preferences  Tipping point  Used data from the North Carolina Education Research Data Center and applied a conditional logit method  Determined students move to student populations more similar to their own race and socio-economic status despite lower levels of student achievement  3 reasons:  Residential segregation  Cultural preferences  Tipping point

Conclusions  Achievement Gaps exist  There is no simple cause of inequality in education and single solution  Despite the significant body of research on these issues, more specific research on each gap will help to find solutions  Achievement Gaps exist  There is no simple cause of inequality in education and single solution  Despite the significant body of research on these issues, more specific research on each gap will help to find solutions

Recommendations  Replace or overhaul NCLB  Policies must evenly distribute high quality teachers  Reassess standardized testing  Policies must address environmental factors, including home life  The solution to inequality in education will likely require a combination of education, civil rights, and poverty policies  Replace or overhaul NCLB  Policies must evenly distribute high quality teachers  Reassess standardized testing  Policies must address environmental factors, including home life  The solution to inequality in education will likely require a combination of education, civil rights, and poverty policies