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The U.S. Achievement Gap. Mary Poplin, Claremont Graduate University March, 2014 . Policy and Pedagogy. POLICY ISSUES. History of Attempts to Close Gap – US Government Rulings . State Governments in charge of US education Supreme Court Ruling 1954 – separate not equal
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The U.S. Achievement Gap Mary Poplin, Claremont Graduate University March, 2014
History of Attempts to Close Gap –US Government Rulings State Governments in charge of US education Supreme Court Ruling 1954 – separate not equal Desegregation – Busing
Attempts to Close GapSpecial National Projects Early Education – Head Start Compensatory programs Tracking and De-tracking Special Education Bilingual /education Free Lunch Various Remedial Programs
Most of these assumed lesser abilities, potential and/or backgrounds
The History of the Gap Achievement Data Graphs
Black / White Achievement Gap ETS Black White Achievement Gap – July 2010
Hispanic White Achievement Gap8th Grade Mathematics NCES Hispanic White Gap – June 2011
Hispanic White Gap 8th Grade Reading NCES Hispanic White Gap – June 2011
Three Historical Movements Early movement after desegregation Problematic Dismantling of Neighborhood Schools Remedial curriculum, not same Grade inflation
Late 80s Effective School Movement – Ron Edmonds Strong administrators High expectations for teachers and students Orderly school climate Time on academic tasks Basic skills Frequent assessments to check progress
Accountability for Special Programs Did you do what you said you would do? Did you serve the right students? Did you serve the right number of students?
NCLB – New Accountability Achievement analyzed by race and class Not average scores of all students Requirement to increase each subgroup Tied to evaluation of states, districts, schools and teachers
Purpose of Education Education leading to college Education leading to career
Pedagogical Debates • Transmission of Knowledge • Construction of Meanings
Transmission Pedagogy Set of knowledge and social virtues passed from generation to generation Carefully planned presentation of content Class Discussion and Individual Practice Teacher Feedback Teacher controls the learning
Constructivist Pedagogy Students learn through experience Assimilation, accommodation, equilibration Depends on social and language contexts Student controls the learning
Constructivist Methods Experiential education Project Based Cooperative Learning Flipped Classrooms Student discussions
Research Findings Validate Transmission over Construction Both effective schools movement and NCLB used more transmission Validates frequent monitoring of student progress Validates teacher feedback – immediate and content directed Need for background knowledge
Study of 30 Highly Effective Teachers in low-performing Schools in Los Angeles
Achievement in Ineffective Urban Schools In three high schools: 53% of the English teachers and 60% of the math teachers have 30%-75% of their students moving down a level in a single year.
Highly effective teachers in ineffective urban schools Use transmission Lecture and whole class discussion Strict High expectations Move around room Give extensive feedback Disposition to work hard
Every child in my classroom is underachieving based on what I see as their potentialAnd it is my job to do something about itI can and I want to.
Highly effective teachers according to their students Strict Explain things over and over Believes in me Wants me to go to college, have a good life, be successful
When I was in first grade and second and third when I cried my teachers coddled me.When I got to Mrs. T’s room, she told me to suck it up and get to work. I think she is right, I need to work harder.
Other Teacher Data 1/3 were immigrants 1/3 were African American No particular age or years of teaching Not necessarily better degrees 1/3 had similar lives as their students Neither far left or rightpolitically Most were religious and said their religion was a significant reason for their work.
Theoretical Explanations for Why Transmission Works Best Kirschner, Mayer, Hirsch, Hattie Students are novices, not experts Lack of background knowledge Active learning does not mean action Transmission can engage minds Cognitive overload Critical importance of immediate feedback
Constructivism may be the right learning theory but not the wrong pedagogy If students do learn by constructing new meanings, they may be more able to do that with a more active teacher who is skilled in transmitting information.
Lastly How Do Asian Students Achieve Inside US Schools They excel above all others!
Trends for Asian Americans CEP Trends for Asian American Students – June 2010