Achievement
We all want kids to do well and achieve. Articles within this section take a closer look at the achievement of particular groups, such as boys vs. girls, and students in a specific grade.
See additional sources of reading research.
Beating the Odds: How Thirteen NYC Schools Bring Low-Performing Ninth Graders to Timely Graduation and College Enrollment
Ascher, Carol and Maguire, Cindy. (2007). Beating the Odds: How Thirteen NYC Schools Bring Low-Performing Ninth Graders to Timely Graduation and College Enrollment. Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University.
This report describes a qualitative study, conducted in 2006 by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, of a small group of New York City high schools that were "beating the odds" by producing higher than predicted graduation and college-going rates for ninth-graders who entered with far below-average eighth-grade reading and math scores.
Institute staff identified four key strategies that helped these students beat the odds: academic rigor, networks of timely supports, college expectations and access, and effective use of data. The report concludes with recommendations for maintaining and scaling up the success of these schools through better distribution of resources, greater school control over enrollment, a stronger system of support and accountability, and a district office of postsecondary education.
Rigor at Risk: Reaffirming Quality in the High School Core Curriculum
ACT. (2007). Rigor at Risk: Reaffirming Quality in the High School Core Curriculum. Retrieved Nov. 5. 2007, from http://www.act.org/path/policy/pdf/rigor_report.pdf.
While more students are taking a rigorous core curriculum, too many still find themselves ill-prepared to handle college. ACT scores have consistently shown that students who take a core curriculum of four years of English and three years each of math, science, and social studies are much more likely than those who don't to be prepared for college. This report examines whether additional courses may be necessary and finds that schools should not simply add more courses, but improve the quality and rigor of the existing core course offerings. The also report contains "action steps" that states and schools can take to improve the core high school courses.
Still At Risk: What Students Don’t Know, Even Now
(2008) ©Common Core. All rights reserved.
This report reveals some damning statistics about U.S. teens' lack of knowledge of history and culture. For example, one-third do not know that the Bill of Rights guarantees the freedom of speech and religion and forty-four percent think The Scarlet Letter was either about a witch trial or a piece of correspondence.
The authors' attribute much of this ignorance to a curriculum focused on basic reading and math skills and preparation for high-stakes testing, but parental educational also has an impact on student knowledge-students with a college-educated parent scored significantly better than those without.
The Nation's Report Card: Trial Urban District Assessment Reading 2007
Lutkus, A., Grigg, W., and Donahue, P. (2007). The Nation's Reprot Card: Trial Urban District Assessment Reading 2007 (NCES 2008-455). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.
Based on longitudinal testing data from fourth and eighth grade NAEP exams, this report summarizes results from Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and other urban districts. The researchers compare proficiencies across districts, but also note lower profile results, such as districts showing a steadily rising percentage of students who have improved from below basic to basic proficiencies.
The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2007
U.S. Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.
This report presents the results of the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) writing assessment, which was administered to a sampling of 8th and 12th graders in U.S. public and private schools. Average writing scores were higher in 2007 than in previous assessments in 2002 and 1998.
For 8th graders:
- The average writing score was 3 points higher than in 2002 and 6 points higher than in 1998.
- The percentage of students performing at or above the Basic level increased from 85 percent in 2002 to 88 percent and was also higher than in 1998
- The percentage of students performing at or above the Proficient level was higher than in 1998 but showed no significant change since 2002.
For 12th graders:
- The average writing score was 5 points higher than in 2002 and 3 points higher than in 1998.
- The percentage of students performing at or above the Basic level increased from 74 percent in 2002 to 82 percent and was also higher than in 1998.
- The percentage of students performing at or above the Proficient level was higher than in 1998 but showed no significant change since 2002.
