why does the gap persist

7/30/2019 Why Does the Gap Persist

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November 2004 | Volume 62 | Number3

Closing Achievement Gaps Pages 8-13

Why Does the Gap Persist?Paul E. Barton

Research ties 14 factors to student achievement, and low-income and minority childrenare at a disadvantage in almost all of them.

Educators are now engaging in stocktaking as we recognize that 50 years have passed since the U.S. Supreme

Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision.

I have been around to watch those 50 years. In 1956, I was doing field research in North Carolina as a member of a

research team from Princeton University that produced a book titled Desegregation: Readiness and Resistance

(Tumin, 1958). Although we confirmed widespread racial prejudice and a dislike of desegregation in the white

population, we also found a general willingness to obey the law rather than to violate it. And by and large, smoothly

and roughly, in some places sooner and in some places later, school desegregation was implemented.

The basic right to equal school access eventually became a reality. But on the whole, equal access has not led to

equal achievement. Local communities, state policymakers, and the federal government have kept equalachievement on their agendas, as expressed in such efforts as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

1965. But like prosperity in an earlier period, equal achievement has remained just around the corner.

In 2004, equal achievement is still far around the corner and way down the block. The National Assessment of

Educational Progress consistently reports that the average 8th grade minority student performs at about the level of

the average 4th grade white student (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). Minority students are found all

up and down the achievement scale, of course, but too many remain lower down.

I recently undertook a project to see how well I could pin down, from accumulated research knowledge and available

statistics, whythe school achievement gap persists.1 To do so required two steps.

The first step was to identify the life experiences and conditions that research showed were associated with school

achievement. Because so many studies were involvedfrom the high hundreds to the low thousandsI had to relyon competent syntheses and meta-analyses to identify factors on which the research community had reached a

consensus. I identified 14 factors that correlated with achievement (see Factors That Correlate with Student

Achievement, p. 10).

The second step was to look for statistics that indicated whether children's experience with each factor differed on the

basis of race/ethnicity and income. Statistical data by race/ethnicity were available for each of the 14 factors; in every

instance, a gap existed. Data by income were available for 12 of the factors, and a gap existed for 11 of them. The

conclusion is clear: Achievement gaps by race/ethnicity and income mirror inequalities in those aspects of schooling,

early life, and home circumstances that research has linked to school achievement.

The Development Environment

Infants with low birthweights are at risk of impaired development, including delayed motor and social development.

They are more likely to fail or repeat grades. In 2000, 13 percent of black infants were low in birthweight, compared

with 7 percent of white infants and 6 percent of Hispanic infants.

Lead poisoningis a long-recognized problem whose principal source is thought to be the lead paint found in old

houses. According to the last available data, the percentage of black children under age 6 living in housing built

before 1946 (when lead paint was commonly used) was more than three times the percentage of white children living

in such environments; for Mexican American children, the percentage was double that for white children.
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Common sense as well as research tells us that hungry, malnourished children are harmed in their cognitive

development. From regular surveys of hunger and food insecurity, we know that black and Hispanic children under

age 18 are about three times more likely to be hungry and insecure in their food supply than white children are.

Home Learning Conditions

Children whose parents or caregivers read to them when they are younggain a considerable advantage in terms of

language acquisition, literacy development, achievement in reading comprehension, and general success in school.

Black and Hispanic children are read to much less than white children are, and children in poverty are read to less

than children from higher socioeconomic brackets.

Reading is just one of many parent behaviors that develop cognitive capabilities in children. In-depth observational

studies conducted over a substantial period of time by Hart and Risley (1995) recorded the interactions of parents

with their childrenboth type and frequency. The researchers reached a startling conclusion: Three-year-old children

in professional families had a vocabulary as large as that of theparents in the study who were on welfare.

When parents bring television into their living rooms and their children's bedrooms, they take on a large responsibility.

They need to control the amount of TV and the kind of programs the children watch. The test posed by E. B. White in

1938 has been graded, at least for students. He said,

I believe television is going to be the test of the modern world and that in this new

opportunity to see beyond the range of vision, we shall discern either a new and unbearable

disturbance of the general peace or a saving radiance in the sky. (quoted in College Board,

1977, p. 37)

Television is no saving radiance for children; watching a lot of television is associated with lower achievement. A

recent study led by Christakis (2004) established that each hour of television that a child watches on a daily basis

between the ages of 1 and 3 years old increases by 10 percent the risk that the child will have attention problems.

Forty-two percent of black 4th graders watch six hours or more of television per daymore than three times the

percentage of white 4th graders who watch that much.

We speak of the teacher-pupil ratio, but we also need to think in terms of a parent-pupil ratio. Whether the family

includes two parents as resources or just one is bound to make a difference. Substantial research onparent

availabilityconfirms this commonsense idea. The family is the institution that has the job of raising children and

socializing them. Public policies and programs can help families when they are struggling, but no acceptable

substitute for families has been invented.

The trends are not encouraging. During the last quarter of a century or more, the two-parent family has been in

decline in the United States and throughout the developed world. And the relationship of these trends to the

achievement gap is clear: Just 38 percent of black children lived with both parents in 2000; almost one in 10 lived

with neither parent. Among Hispanic children, 65 percent lived with two parents, as did 75 percent of white children.

Struggling single-parent mothers, and sometimes fathers, need all the help they can get from the community and

from the school.

Student MobilityThe causes ofstudent mobilityare complex and are related to social conditions, such as the availability of jobs and

affordable housing. Changing schools within a school year is hard on studentsand hard on teachers, who find new

students in their classes who have not necessarily been studying what the other students have learned.

A recent study in Jefferson County, Kentucky, found that frequent school changers scored lower on school tests.

Poor students and students from single-parent homes had the highest school-changing rates (Metropolitan Housing

Council, 2004).


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The rate of student mobility has not been measured nationally since 1991. The data from that survey, published in

1994 by the U.S. 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 Home-School Connection

The need for activeparent participationstrong interaction between parents and the schoolis well recognized. The

online Child Trends Data Bank, in summarizing the research, concluded that

students 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. (2003)

Child Trends also found that differences in parent involvement by race/ethnicity and income tend to show up in

situations that require deeper involvement. 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 schoolan initiative that comes with a large price tag.

School Factors

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.

Although all racial/ethnic groups are now taking harder courses than in the past, minorities still lag considerably

behind, and they are underrepresented in advanced placement examinations.

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 whensubstitutes 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,


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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. (Grossman, Beaupre, & Rossi, 2001)

Although researchers have extensively studied the effects ofclass 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 studentsought 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 1999, 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. On a wide range of conditions that impede learning, research has found differences among

the experiences of various racial/ethnic and income groups. 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.

Where to Begin?Whenever I present this information to a group, someone always asks, Which set of factors is the most responsible

for the achievement gapschool or nonschool? 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 1966

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]. (1972, p. 6)

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.


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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.

Factors That Correlate with Student Achievement

Before and Beyond School:

Birthweight

Lead poisoning

Hunger and nutrition

Reading to young children

Television watching Parent availability

Student mobility

Parent participation

In School:

Rigor of curriculum

Teacher experience and attendance

Teacher preparation

Class size

Technology-assisted instruction

School safety


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References

Child Trends Data Bank. (2003). Parent involvement in schools [Online]. Available:

www.childtrendsdatabank.org/pdf/39_pdf.pdf

Christakis, D. A., Zimmerman, F. J., DiGiuseppe, D. L., & McCarty, C. A. (2004). Early

television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics, 113(4),

708713.

Coleman, J. (1972). Policy research in the social sciences. Morristown, PA: General Learning

Press.

College Board. (1977). On further examination: Report of the Advisory Commission on the

SAT scores decline. Princeton, NJ: Author.

Grossman, K. N., Beaupre, B., & Rossi, R. (2001, Sept. 7). Poorest kids often wind up with

the weakest teachers. Chicago Sun-Times [Online]. Available:

www.suntimes.com/special_sections/failing_teacher/part2/cst-nws-main07.html

Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young

American children. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.

Metropolitan Housing Council. (2004). Moving on: Student mobility and affordable housing.

Louisville, KY: Author. Available:www.metropolitanhousing.org/pdf/mhcdoc_32.pdf

National Center for Education Statistics. (2003). National Assessment of Educational

Progress, the nation's report card: 2003 mathematics and reading results [Online].

Available: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/results2003/raceethnicity.asp

Tumin, M. (1958). Desegregation: Readiness and resistance. Princeton, NJ: Princeton

University.

Endnote

1 For an expanded discussion of the study and for data sources, see the full report Parsing the Achievement Gap: Baselines

for Tracking Progress, published by Educational Testing Service and available on the ETS Web site atwww.ets.org/research/pic/parsing.pdf. Any data sources not cited specifically in this article are drawn from the full report.

Paul E. Barton is an education writer and consultant and Senior Associate in the Educational Testing Service Policy

Information Center; [email protected].
http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/pdf/39_pdf.pdfhttp://www.suntimes.com/special_sections/failing_teacher/part2/cst-nws-main07.htmlhttp://www.metropolitanhousing.org/pdf/mhcdoc_32.pdfhttp://www.metropolitanhousing.org/pdf/mhcdoc_32.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/results2003/raceethnicity.asphttp://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov04/vol62/num03/Why-Does-the-Gap-Persist%C2%A2.aspx#ref1http://www.ets.org/research/pic/parsing.pdfhttp://www.ets.org/research/pic/parsing.pdfmailto:[email protected]://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/pdf/39_pdf.pdfhttp://www.suntimes.com/special_sections/failing_teacher/part2/cst-nws-main07.htmlhttp://www.metropolitanhousing.org/pdf/mhcdoc_32.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/results2003/raceethnicity.asphttp://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov04/vol62/num03/Why-Does-the-Gap-Persist%C2%A2.aspx#ref1http://www.ets.org/research/pic/parsing.pdfmailto:[email protected]

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