Working on the Achievement Gap*

This page is organized around the questions numbered below. A page with more material, organized around a reading list issued to participants in a workshop on the achievement gap and complementary learning, is found here.

1. What is the “achievement gap”? Is it the same thing as “the dropout crisis”?

2. What is the role of the basics of education in closing the achievement gap?

3. Looking at local efforts to speak to the AG? Check the WA State Commission on African American Affairs Education Page. See their Key Messages for Policymakers.

4. The main emphasis in national and state education policy seems to be “No Child Left Behind.” How does “No Child Left Behind” seek to close the achievement gap or solve the dropout crisis?

5. How can we close the achievement gap? [Whenever you see the letters CAG on this page, it refers to “close the achievement gap.”]

6. Does the Tacoma School District have a plan for closing the achievement gap? What must any plan include? RECENT ADDITION: See the Tacoma Schools page on Addressing the Achievement Gap . It includes links to the recent report by Thelma Jackson, and other things.

7. One approach to CAG described in the answer to question 2 is called “complementary learning.” What is complementary learning, and how do we get it organized?

8. The achievement gap seems to hit hardest at students of color. Did that program at Harvard take a close look at the color line?

9. Recently a national study labeled some Tacoma schools as “Dropout Factories,” and school officials disputed the study. What is going on? The controversy is described here.

*The material found on these pages is largely the product of discussions among different groups I have been fortunate to encounter. One of them is called “the Conversation.” Another draws people from around the city, and does not have its own web page. They are people who have a lot of experience with education, administration, and politics, and discussions are always interesting. The discussions produce the ideas, and this page serves to record them.

--Sid Olufs