Browsing by Subject "Achievement Gap"

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    Analyzing the Impact of Education Reforms on the Achievement Gap: an Analysis of Teach for America
    (Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, 2009-10-09) Anderson, Brett
    The Coleman Report’s (Coleman et al. 1966) influence on education, even to this day, cannot be understated. As the largest, most well known and most influential educational study conducted in the U.S, the Coleman Report laid the foundation for how we look at equality in education and what we know about the effects of various influences within education. Its central findings underline two of the most intractable problems the field of education faces: (1) family background or SES is the prime predictor of achievement and (2) large achievement gaps between groups of students from different SES backgrounds. The finding that family background, or SES, is the main predictor of educational outcomes was a direct contradiction to what many were expecting the Coleman Report to find, which was that disparity in inputs or resources was the main cause for the existing minority achievement gaps. And while the study did also find some support for the effects of teachers and the student body composition, these were much smaller than those of family background.
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    Student academic engagement and the academic achievement gap between black and white middle school students: does engagement increase student achievement?
    (2009-10) Sbrocco, Renee
    Too many students leave American high schools unable to read, write, or even do simple math. This academic failure falls disproportionately on students of color. In addition, student academic disengagement is ubiquitous in American schools. In 2004, The National Research Council and Institute of Medicine found that large numbers of American students are not fully engaged intellectually in the teaching and learning enterprise (Marks, 2000). The effects of student disengagement are most severe among minority students, a group which scores lower in achievement and higher in drop-out rates (Voelkl, 1997). Given the disparity between White and Black students in academic achievement and academic engagement, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between academic engagement and the achievement of eighth grade students in three suburban middle schools. The study utilizes a post-positivism philosophy given the quantitative methods used to analyze perceived levels of academic engagement of eighth-grade students. The engagement data was then analyzed compared to student academic achievement. In conclusion, the study showed that more engaged students demonstrated higher academic achievement. In addition, the effects of engagement have the ability to reduce the effects of race on academic achievement.