Closing the Achievement Gap - Washington State School Directors ...

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Other PolicyRecommendationsTo solve the complex problem of the achievement gap, there mustbe cooperation of policy makers at many levels. The WSSDAAd Hoc Achievement Gap Task Force offers the following recommendationsto be considered by other policy groups.Higher EducationCollaborate and connect K-12 education and higher education toaddress issues of disproportionality. This partnership can begin withteacher preparation programs that are developed in partnership withK-12 education so that future teachers are well qualified to teachstudents from diverse backgrounds. The Task Force supports theconcept of creating “professional development schools” in which preserviceteachers are trained in schools that reflect the diversity ofstudents and the challenges of education reform. These professionaldevelopment schools would have preservice teachers work with expertpractitioners and give veteran teachers opportunities to renew theirown professional development.Support high quality professional development for new and experiencedteachers in cooperation with K-12. Higher education can play asignificant role in helping teachers deepen and broaden their skills andknowledge in working with diverse learners.Incorporate cultural competence and the home-parent partnership inteacher preparation curricula.Encourage policies that support a program of incentives and generousscholarships for highly qualified individuals who want to teach in highpoverty and ethnically diverse schools.WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION49
Train teachers to meet the demands of diverse student populations,including required coursework in teaching English language learners.Family Support and LiteracyTo close the readiness gap, adult literacy initiatives must be shifted tofamily literacy programs. Developing literacy and language withinfamilies recognizes the significant influence that parents have on theirchild’s development and supports families in providing that positiveinfluence.Family and community stability continues to influence children’ssuccess in schools. Research related to dropping out of school showsthat students who move frequently tend to drop out of school at fargreater rates. The academic achievement of students from highlymobile families also tends to be lower. Family support policies shouldrecognize the benefits of family and community stability to childrenand provide support systems and incentives for families to remain intheir community, especially during their children’s early school experience.Early Childhood EducationInvest in expanding quality preschool programs, particularly for disadvantagedchildren, and providing full-day kindergarten programs.Research on both quality preschool and full-day kindergarten providescompelling evidence that both strategies significantly increase studentsuccess in school.Improve the preschool experiences for three- and four-year olds byemphasizing the teaching of cognitive skills with preschool teachershighly qualified to do so. Support continued work to align K-12 EssentialAcademic Learning Requirements and benchmarks with birth tofive education.Support the position of the National Association for the Education ofYoung Children and the International Reading Association calling fora professional preparation system to ensure that staff in early childhoodprograms and teachers in primary schools have specializededucation that informs them about developmental patterns in earlyliteracy learning and about research-based ways of teaching earlyreading and writing.K-12 EducationSupport legislation to create small schools. As reported by Anne Lewisin ADD IT UP: Using Research to Improve Education for Low-income andMinority Students, several studies have found that as schools increasedin size so did the negative effects of poverty on student achievement.“The well-documented correlation between poverty and low achieve50CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE
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Table of ContentsForeword .........
Page 7 and 8: My thanks to the members of the Ach
Page 9 and 10: Assess the achievement gap problem.
Page 12 and 13: Overview of the PolicyAction GuideT
Page 14 and 15: Understanding theAchievement GapWSS
Page 16 and 17: Data also show a clear pattern of a
Page 18 and 19: cient (LEP) students were dispropor
Page 20 and 21: All Students Can Learn:Evidence Tha
Page 22: The two building graphs are from Wa
Page 25 and 26: Allocation and Alignment of Fiscal
Page 27 and 28: What School Districts Are DoingIn t
Page 29 and 30: The No Child Left Behind Act (www.n
Page 31 and 32: What School Districts Are DoingThe
Page 33 and 34: Questions to Guide the Discussion1.
Page 35 and 36: economically disadvantaged families
Page 37 and 38: “We need to look inside ourdistri
Page 39 and 40: 5. To what degree have new ways to
Page 41 and 42: “Closing the achievementgap requi
Page 43 and 44: “Where there are differentlevels
Page 45 and 46: What School Districts Are DoingKenn
Page 47 and 48: 5. To what degree are parents and c
Page 49 and 50: the classroom, grade level, school
Page 51 and 52: technology and professional develop
Page 53 and 54: tion, learning environments, progra
Page 55: Statewide 6th Grade ITBS Results: 2
Page 60 and 61: ReferencesBrumbaugh, S. (1997). “
Page 62: Waymack N. & Drury, D. (Summer/Fall
Page 65 and 66: Gary Wilson Principal and Linda Hah
Page 67: Notes
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