The Answer Sheet: Achievement gap


Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 08/08/2011

Delusions of adequacy in D.C. reform effort
By Valerie Strauss
The reform effort in D.C. schools started by former chancellor Michelle Rhee is now in its fifth year, and newly released test scores, Rhee’s self-selected measure of progress in closing the achievement gap, don’t show much. Who is surprised?

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 08/08/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/26/2011

Things I’m sick of hearing

By Valerie Strauss
It’s time for school reformers to find new ways to attack their critics. It’s getting tiring hearing the same old refrains, which go something like this.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/26/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  charter schools, data-driven reform, michelle rhee, president obama, school reform, standardized tests, teachers unions

Posted at 12:05 PM ET, 01/21/2011

How Teach for America sees itself
By Valerie Strauss
Here, from the Teach for America website, is a detailed job posting that explains a lot about how the organization sees itself in the world of school reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:05 PM ET, 01/21/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  achievement gap, closing achievement gap, leadership for educational equity, michelle rhee, teach for america, teach for america job posting, teach for america jobs

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 12/06/2010

Willingham: Close to a magic bullet in education
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham writes about something that he says may come as close to being a magic bullet in education as anything.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 12/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  achievement gap, daniel willingham, education research, gender gap, school reform

Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 12/03/2010

Was achievement gap understated?
By Valerie Strauss
An education analyst writes that a graph released by government underestimates the achievement gap on the latest 12th grade National Assessment of Educational Progress scores.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:00 AM ET, 12/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap | Tags:  achievement gap, bluegrass institute, education statistics, naep, national assessment of educational progress, nces

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/26/2010

Report on college attendance crisis for black males exaggerated
By Valerie Strauss
The education crisis for African-American males is a serious concern, but, as one education activist, we shouldn't make it worse than it actually is. One piece of data that recently became big news was widely misunderstood.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  achievement gap, african-american males, attendance crisis, black males, college attendance and african american males

Posted at 11:38 AM ET, 11/22/2010

The social cost to academic achievement -- Willingham
By Daniel Willingham
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham asks and answers: "Is there a social cost to academic achievement?"

By Daniel Willingham  |  11:38 AM ET, 11/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  academic and ethnic, achievement gap, daniel willingham, john ogbu, social cost to academic achievement

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/22/2010

How to help African-American males in school: Treat them like gifted students
By Valerie Strauss
The way to help African-American males in school is for teachers to do for them what works for gifted students: Develop their strengths.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  SAT scores, achievement gap, african-american males, black males, council of great city schools, national urban alliance, schools

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 11/20/2010

The Matthew Effect, Plinko, and the achievement gap
By Valerie Strauss
The argument for integration of low-income students into more affluent schools is that it offers an opportunity to level the playing field and provide high expectations to students who are not traditionally held to the same schooling standards as the white upper and middle class. However, as a Black male who attended Montgomery County Public Schools for high school, I am not convinced that a culture of high expectations extends beyond honors, AP, and IB classrooms.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 11/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Achievement gap, Achievement gap | Tags:  achievement gap, brain development, brain research, closing achievement gap, guest bloggers, plinko, the Matthew Effect, the matthew effect