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What is the Achievement Gap?

• These gaps are Red Flags that tells us some of our youth are not on track to graduate high school prepared for college or career.

• The difference in scores between two groups of students (male and female, African American and White, Hispanic and White).

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The achievement gap matters…

• Students who fall behind in school are more likely to dropout.

• Young people without the educational basics find it more difficult to get jobs that provide adequate pay and security.

• They are more likely to become incarcerated and utilize public assistance.

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The achievement gap matters to our entire community…

Achievement gaps create “the economic equivalent of

a permanent national recession -- substantially

larger than the deep recession the country is currently experiencing.”

McKinsey & Company, 2009 4

Tonight’s Key Questions

• What does Oregon’ achievement gap look like? Who’s affected by it?

• What contributes to the achievement gap?

• What can we do about it?

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Our Achievement Gap

The National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) is often called “the nation’s report card”, and considered our best objective measure across states.

We can look at student scores in 4th, 8th and 12th grades and see how they compare to one another. Oregon is one of five states where the overall achievement gap WIDENED between 2003 and 2007.

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Are Oregon students learning basic skills?

285 290 296

264 264 273 270

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100

150

200

250

300

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All White Asian Black Hispanic NativeAmerican

Low-Income EnglishLanguageLearner

2009 NAEP Oregon Math Achievement Grade 8

Average Student Score by Ethnicity

Proficient Skill Level

Basic Skill Level

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Half of Oregon’s 561,000 public school students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, compared to 30 percent in 1997

Fourth Grade Achievement & Income

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180

190

200

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220

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Oregon 4th Grade Reading Achievement - NAEP

Eligible for free or reduced-price lunch Not eligible

2003

2009

This 27-point gap

equals about 2.5

years of academic progress

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Fourth Grade Reading & English Language Learners

170

180

190

200

210

220

230

2002 2003 2005 2007 2009

Oregon 4th Grade Reading Achievement ELL Students

English Language Learners Non-ELL students

42-point gap

65,000 Oregon students speak a primary language other than English, a 387 percent increase since 1997. 9

Fourth Grade Reading & Ethnicity

180

185

190

195

200

205

210

215

220

225

230

2005 2007 2009

Oregon NAEP 4th Grade Reading Achievement & Ethnicity

White Asian/Pacific Islander Black Hispanic Native American

31 points

Students of color comprised eighteen percent of Oregon public school enrollment in 1997. Today, students of color make up about one-third of student enrollment. 10

Who makes it to graduation day?

• State data for 2009-10 shows that African American and Native American students dropped out at nearly twice the rate of their white peers.

On Time Graduation

50 %

Non-Graduates

50 %

Class of 2010 African American & Native American

Students

On Time Graduation

50%

Non-Graduates

50%

Class of 2010 English Language Learners

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Other states are making progress

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Note: 13 states did not meet reporting requirements for 2003 or 2009 NAEP assessments.

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Combined Academic Gains for low-income students, NAEP Reading & Math exams, 2003-2009

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Keys to success

• What’s working for our students who have been underserved and experienced less success than their peers?

• That’s what we’re here to explore with our panel.

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