Bridging the Achievement Gap
Is there a gap in the academic achievement between African American or Hispanic students and Asian and White students?
Absolutely, but some schools won’t accept that fact as a prediction of what they can accomplish. This website offers encouragement to educators and parents trying to close the academic achievement gap with their children, based on evidence of strategies that are working in effective California traditional and charter schools that are featured in our research-based books and videos available on this website.
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CORE STRATEGIES OF CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP
- The ongoing academic achievement gap can be closed, as some traditional and charter California schools in our research findings have illustrated. These exemplary schools, described in Bridging the Achievement Gap: What Successful Educators and Parents Do, First and Second Editions, exhibit similar leadership, teaching and parenting practices strategies that can be replicated to help close the achievement gap.
- School districts and schools must develop a new sense of urgency about bridging the achievement gap, beginning with acknowledging high expectations for the low-performing students, as well as high expectations the educators and parents responsible for the children.
- Research cited in the Bridging the Achievement Gap books, noted above, suggests that there is a science that defines the school practices and parenting practices likely to help bridge the achievement gap.
- Beyond a recognition of what can be done to close the achievement gap, those responsible for public education must take a leadership role to take action leading to closing the gap.
TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
What is the impact of technology in a child’s education, and why is integration of technology in education important in a pupils’ life?
- In California, the state test, CAASPP, is administered in grades 3-8 and grade 11. Students take this test on a computer. High performing schools tend to give students many opportunities in everyday instruction to use the same computers throughout the year that they also use to perform on state tests.
- Effective schools allow students to use classroom computers to conduct research, exchange drafts of their papers with teachers, and take practice tests similar to the annual state test. Such students are able to approach state testing with greater confidence and skill, since they take the state test using the same computers.
- Effective schools provide technology workshops for parents, where they get an opportunity to practice using the school’s computers. Thoughtful parent academies also inform parents about software programs they can use at home to re-enforce learning at home, using various technologies. Some parents are encouraged to use YouTube for tutorials in various subjects.
- Some schools referenced in our Parent Academy Evaluations use Classroom DOJO, Illuminate, Khan Academy and other software programs that facilitate communications between parents and teachers about student performance in real time. Many parents gave testimonials about these strategies in their parent academies.
