How to Close Achievement Gaps in Today’s Schools
We have been talking about achievement gaps for decades.
The discussion about what achievement gaps are, and what causes them has gotten heated many times.
Unfortunately, the conversation has mostly focused on what they are and what causes them. We ignore what we can do to close them. Yes, there are curriculums out there that proclaim to close achievement gaps. Let’s be honest, none of them do all that they claim to do.
What Are Achievement Gaps?
Silly question I suppose when I’m talking to a bunch of people in education. But, the fact is, actually defining what we mean when we talk about achievement gaps is important if we want to close them.
Achievement gaps is the gap between what a student or group of students knows and is able to do compared to another group of students. Most of the time, when we talk about achievement gaps we are referring to socio-economic groups, but occasionally race or gender. Sometimes, though it is rare, we compare one group to the average student body.
Most of the time, comparing achievement gaps consists of talking about academic achievement, but it is also important to talk about social or behavioral achievement gaps as well.
Ignoring the social and behavioral gaps causes schools and districts to look at students as one-dimensional people. In reality there is a lot going on in schools which the one measure just cannot depict.
There are hundreds of reasons for achievement gaps. Some of these reasons schools and districts are able to mitigate, such as providing breakfast and lunches for students who may not have food at home. Schools provide transportation to and from school for students whose parents are unable to transport them. We help students get glasses when needed, or audiology equipment to assist them in hearing instruction. The ways that schools and districts support students susceptible to achievement gaps is vast.
There are some factors which schools cannot control. Yes, we provide breakfast and lunch, but some students do not know if they will get to eat dinner. We cannot ensure that students grow up in safe homes which are free from drugs or dangerous influences. Schools cannot change whether students were read to or even interacted with when they were infants and toddlers. Teachers cannot and will not force parents to practice reading at home, or do homework with their children. Schools can’t change the amount of screen time that students have, if their parents have reliable jobs, or if students have a home to return to daily. We cannot influence the incarceration of parents, or what trauma students are exposed to before they come to us.
The number of things outside the schools control is innumerable. Yet, they are all factors which could impact achievement gaps.
Schools impact the factors which they are able. We mitigate the consequences as much as possible for the ones that cannot be changed. And we keep moving forward.
Unfortunately, achievement gaps still exist. But aside from providing free and reduced lunches and Title 1 services, what else can we do?
First, stop looking at achievement gaps as only academic. We MUST start looking at social and behavioral achievement gaps on a consistent basis as well.
We should be taking data and analyzing how often groups of students receive referrals to the office versus warnings. Use surveys to find out how different groups of students feel safety, confidence, and social wise in our schools. Compare the number of days that students are suspended both outside and inside school, and why.
All of this information impacts academic achievement gaps, and the academic gaps impact the social and behavioral gaps. Students who are struggling academically rarely have no social or behavioral impacts. Students who are suspended consistently are going to have academic gaps because of missed learning time.
Students are not one-dimensional people, they are complex individuals, and we need to get the real picture of what is going on with our students, and our groups of students so that we can make a worthwhile plan to close achievement gaps.
Once we get an accurate picture of what is actually impacting groups of students, THEN we can identify the skill deficits…both academic and behavioral…which need to be address.
After we have identified the specific skill deficits which need to be addressed, we form groups and address them. We address the most basic skills first so that students have a strong foundation, then work our way through more complex skills, progress monitoring along the way to make sure that we are moving at a strong pace to help students make gains quickly.
At the same time that these interventions and progress monitoring are going on, we also need to analyze the data we gathered about the groups and figure out where the patterns start…or where the skill deficits start to show up and plan for ways to mitigate these issues at that point.
As with everything else in education, there is no overnight solution to closing achievement gaps. It takes collaboration and attention to what the data tells us to solve the issues which our clientele brings to us every day or year.
Can we ever REALLY close achievement gaps?
There will always be factors which schools and districts cannot change. Things are always in flux when it comes to education, meaning that things are going to come up which we will have to address as they happen…case in point pandemics.
But that doesn’t mean that we can’t systematically and effectively close achievement gaps.
Close them all the way so that every single student is working on average or above level?
No, even considering that doesn’t make sense because it ignores the individuality of our students.
Yes, we can make achievement gaps smaller, but there are always going to be individual students who still need additional supports to get or stay on grade level. Education has always been, and will always be a work in progress.
Can we do better? Yes.
Should we do better? Also yes.
Will education ever be perfect? Not unless society and children quit changing….good luck with that.
For education to change with the needs of the students, we have to use our data, analyze it, and work together to adapt. With an everyone can learn attitude, and collaboration, we can adapt, we can improve, and we can close achievement gaps.