The evidence on achievement gaps over time: Contained but not closing


Johns Hopkins

The evidence on achievement gaps over time: Contained but not closing
Research has shown that socioeconomic status (SES) is the highest predictor of children's academic achievement. Moreover, the achievement gap between low- and high-SES students begins early in their schooling. How effective have initiatives been at narrowing the achievement gap? Emma Garcia at the Education Policy Institute and Elaine Weiss at the Broader Bolder Approach to Education examined two cohorts of kindergartners, those who started in 1998 and those who started in 2010. They were looking at the relationship between socioeconomic status and kindergartners' cognitive and non-cognitive skills at the start of their school years to see if the achievement gap had narrowed in this twelve-year span. 

Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics - Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies of the Kindergarten Classes of 1998-99 and 2010-11, Garcia and Weiss found that the achievement gap did not change between 1998 to 2010 among students living in the nation's highest and lowest economic strata,a difference of 1.17 sd in reading and 1.25 sd in math, despite parents' increased involvement in educating their children across all SES groups and the implementation of programs designed to narrow these gaps. Interestingly, they did find that the percentage of children living in poverty grew during that time, yet the achievement gap did not grow, nor did it narrow. They found that greater parental involvement and children's preschool attendance contained the gap, but did not do enough to eliminate the overall effects of poverty on student achievement.

The researchers then reviewed twelve district-level programs designed to narrow the achievement gap. The most effective programs addressed not only academics, but ensured the children were getting proper meals and healthcare and provided other supports for children and their families. 

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