. . . The new Cradle to Career coalition, an unprecedented collaborative effort is under way among schools, local governments, nonprofits and the business community. The goal is that by aligning existing city, county, and private programs and resources, we can, as a community, help give Portland‘s children the best possible chance for success.
This Portland Public Schools (PPS) board member noted further the premise of the new program, as follows: For our part, PPS needs to ensure that everything we do is based on the core conviction that all children can and will succeed. As adults, we need to provide children with the supports and opportunities they need to help their talents emerge and their strengths grow. The responsibility for the disparities among our young people rests with adults, not the children. [emphasis added] (Ruth Adkins, ―Schools‘ equity efforts are promising,‖ The Portland Tribune, July 21, 2011.) http://www.portlandtribune.com/opinion/story.php?story_id=13111948503154 1300
What specific statistics underlie the existence of an achievement gap? Again, according to the U.S. Department of Education‘s NCES, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data are extensive: White students, however, had higher scores than Black students, on average, on all assessments. While the nationwide gaps in 2007 were narrower than in previous assessments at both grades 4 and 8 in mathematics and at grade 4 in reading, White students had average scores at least 26 points higher than Black students in each subject, on a 0-500 scale. (Alan Vanneman, Linda Hamilton, Janet Baldwin Anderson,
and Taslima Rahman, Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress—Statistical Analysis Report, NCES 2009-455, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, July 2009, p. iii.) http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/studies/2009455.pdf
At the state level, gaps in grade 4 mathematics existed in 2007 in the 46 states for which results were available . . . . At grade 8, mathematics gaps existed in 2007 in the 41 states for which results were available . . . . At the state level, gaps in grade 4 reading existed in 2007 in the 44 states for which results were available . . . . At grade 8, reading gaps existed in 2007 in 41 of the 42 states for which results were available. In Hawaii, the 7-point difference between Black and White students‘ scores in 2007 was not statistically significant, and thus there was no gap for Hawaii.‖ (Alan Vanneman, Linda Hamilton, Janet Baldwin Anderson, and
Taslima Rahman, Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress—Statistical Analysis Report, NCES 2009-455, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, July 2009, p. iv.) http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/studies/2009455.pdf
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