30-60 min

This report addresses the following questions: 1) how do gaps in 2007 compare to the gaps in the initial and most recent prior years of the NAEP national and state assessment series? And 2) how do states compare to the nation in 2007? The current report presents these results in graphs that show the NAEP achievement gaps in a format that makes it pos­sible to see at a glance the national and state gaps results for all available years. 

This report addresses the following questions: 1) how do gaps in 2007 compare to the gaps in the initial and most recent prior years of the NAEP national and state assessment series? And 2) how do states compare to the nation in 2007? The current report presents these results in graphs that show the NAEP achievement gaps in a format that makes it pos­sible to see at a glance the national and state gaps results for all available years.

This report addresses the following questions: 1) How do score gaps in 2009 mathematics and reading performance compare to the gaps in the initial and most recent prior years of the NAEP national and state assessment series? And 2) How do Hispanic and White scores and gaps in mathematics and reading at the state level compare to the national scores and gaps in 2009? 

This NAEP report presents descriptive information on the relationships among the percentage of students in a school who are Black, the Black–White student academic performance gap, and student achievement.

The U. S. Department of Education (ED) held a series of focus groups with administrators and teachers of four large comprehensive high schools to gain insight on strategies to close the achievement gap. The groups explored teaching and learning strategies in the content areas, culture and school climate issues, leadership for change, and the change process itself.  This report provides details of the focus group study and the common themes that emerged.

The U. S. Department of Education (ED) held a series of focus groups with administrators and teachers of four large comprehensive high schools to gain insight on strategies to close the achievement gap. The groups explored teaching and learning strategies in the content areas, culture and school climate issues, leadership for change, and the change process itself.  This report provides details of the focus group study and the common themes that emerged.

Success for All is a comprehensive reform model that uses cooperative learning, tutoring, family support services, and extensive professional development to help high-poverty schools succeed with their students. This article reviews research on Success for All with African American students, focusing on evidence that Success for All reduces the achievement gap between African American and White students.

In order to examine the relationship between school size and achievement, a study was conducted using longitudinal achievement data from North Carolina for three separate cohorts of public school students (one elementary, one middle and one high school). Results revealed several interactions between size and student characteristics, all of which indicated that the achievement gaps typically existing between certain subgroups (i.e., more versus less-advantaged, lower versus higher-achieving) were larger in larger schools.

Despite concentrated efforts at improving inferior academic outcomes among disadvantaged students, a substantial achievement gap between the test scores of these students and others remains (Jencks & Phillips, 1998; National Center for Education Statistics, 2000a, 2000b; Valencia & Suzuki, 2000). Existing research used ecological models to document social– emotional factors at multiple levels of influence that undermine academic performance.

Guiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate and Discipline, released in 2014 by the U.S. Department of Education, draws on emerging research and best practices to describe three key principles and associated action steps that can help guide state and local efforts to improve school climate and school discipline. This tip sheet lists resources to support the adoption of these principles.