This report by the Center on Education Policy looks at student progress in the years since the implementation of the federal No Child Left Behind Act in 2001.
Specifically, it examines whether states are increasing student achievement and closing achievement gaps that exist between students of different races, ethnicities, incomes, and genders. In order to determine this CEP gathered data on state tests from 2002 to 2009 for grades four, eight, and high-school tested grades, along with NAEP data from 2005-2009.
The analysis points to several trends.
Achievement gaps are large and persistent. Gaps between white and African American students remain, with African American students scoring 20 to 30 points lower than their white peers in 2009. Furthermore, Asian students also performed highly on state achievement tests, ousting white students in most states.
For most student groups, gaps on state tests have narrowed since 2002. Gaps on state tests narrowed more often for African American and Latino students than it did for low-income and male students. Another fact worth noting is that achievement gaps narrowed in a majority of states between African American and white students, and between Latino and white students.
While progress in narrowing the gap is encouraging, continuing at the current rate of progress would take many years to close the gap. Although gaps between subgroups have been narrowing across the country they are doing so at different rates. Latino/white student gaps have narrowed more rapidly than any other subgroup, while progress in narrowing the gap between boys and girls has evolved at a much slower pace. While the progress is encouraging there is much more work to be accomplished.
The report also breaks down achievement results for each state. In Ohio, eighth grade math results were encouraging and demonstrated that all major subgroups made gains, except for Asian students who remained unchanged. However, the results for eighth grade reading proficiency were somewhat different. At the basic proficiency level most subgroups reported a gain, however declines in progress were reported among above-proficient and advanced levels. In math the gap narrowed in all tested grades for all the major subgroups. To read more about Ohio’s results or to check out how others states are performing, find the report on CEP’s website here.
Slow and Uneven Progress in Narrowing Gaps
Center on Education Policy
December 2010
