This report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent nonprofit organization, examines trends in the achievement of high school students on the state reading/English language arts (ELA) and mathematics tests used for accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This study confirms that there is reason for concern about…

Almost everyone knows what the term "achievement gap" means, although the key to closing it remains elusive. Despite efforts spanning a decade or more, the disparity in test scores, graduation rates, and other indicators of academic success separating many students of color from many of their white and Asian peers has not been eliminated. In a…

Backers of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) based their support on the belief that teachers and administrators primarily were responsible for low levels of achievement by America's poor. But this one-sided view is both inadequate and unsupported by the evidence. The author argues that harsh social policies and the pernicious effects of poverty are more…

Superintendent Steve Joel had reason to be concerned when he got a call from the police chief telling him that federal immigration authorities were coming to the local Swift & Company meat-packing plant to round up undocumented workers as part of a six-state raid. Of the 8,000 students in the Grand Island School District in Central Nebraska,…

Fueled by optimism and driven to succeed, middle- and upper-middle-class families--and those who aspire to join their ranks--are cherished by public schools. It is easy to see why. Better educated and more affluent, middle-class families tend to send their children to school ready (and eager) to learn. And, as 45% of American voters, middle-class…

The effect of an inability to purchase computers for home use and a lack of computers and instruction at public schools has had on the ability of Hispanic students to develop technology skills related to computer and Internet use is discussed. This article asks if the nation's emphasis on technology in schools has hindered Hispanic access to…

The fiftieth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's school desegregation order in Brown v. Board of Education has intensified public awareness of the persistent gap in academic achievement between black students and white students. The black-white gap is made up partly of the difference between the achievement of all lower-class students and that…

It is a well-known but highly misunderstood fact that Black and Hispanic students who start out at community colleges are less likely to earn a bachelor's degree with six years than their White or Asian peers. In this article, the author discusses several factors that account for this trend: (1) Black and Hispanic students who start their…