Education issues

Early childhood | K-12 & literacy | Higher ed | Achievement Gap | Education Pipeline

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The Achievement Gap

Students from low-income and minority families score lower on standardized tests, take fewer college preparatory courses in high school, and are more likely than their peers to drop out of high school. This is called the achievement gap. In an economy where education is more necessary than ever, low academic achievement hampers the chances for opportunity for these students.

Opportunity Note - SB 07-059 - Concerning the Smart Start Nutrition Program, Feb. 14, 2007

Revised Opportunity Note - SB 07-059 - Reflects amended version of the bill, April 26, 2007

Blueprint Implementation Memo - Address the social and economic factors that affect student performance. Jan. 4, 2007

Bell special event - An afternoon with Richard Rothstein and Lawrence Hernandez, March 21, 2006
Many policy-makers place the blame for the achievement gap on schools, but achievement gap expert Richard Rothstein insists that’s less than half the story. Family income, social class, frequent moves, home literacy, nutrition, lead poisoning, parental occupation, and persistent racial discrimination in the labor market are equally influential in defining academic success or failure for low-income and minority kids, he says. Lawrence Hernandez, the founder and principal of Cesar Chavez Academy in Pueblo, believes school structure is the dominant factor in closing the achievement gap.
Press coverage - "Home, health tied to closing student achievement gap," by Karen Rouse, The Denver Post, March 22, 2006
"To hear why No Child fails, just listen to its supporters," by Diane Carman, The Denver Post, March 23, 2006

Policy Brief - Understanding and Closing Colorado's Achievement Gap, March 21, 2006

White paper - Understanding Colorado's Achievement Gap: An Analysis of Student Performance Data by Race and Income, August 2005 (50 pgs, 756 KB)

Commentary - Neither English immersion nor bilingual education alone will close achievement gap, by Andy Hartman, November 2002