Eliminating the Achievement Gap
The Achievement Gap in Columbia Public Schools
The "achievement gap" in education refers
to the disparity in academic performance between groups of
students. It is most often used to describe the troubling
performance gaps between many African-American and Hispanic
students at the lower end of the performance scale, and their
non-Hispanic and non-African-American peers--as well as the
similar disparity that occurs among students from low-income
families. The achievement gap shows up in grades,
standardized-test scores, course selection, dropout rates, and
college-completion rates. It has become a focal point of
education reform efforts nationally and in Columbia Public
Schools.
Achievement gap data sheet
World Cafe Events
In November 2010, Columbia Public Schools
held a community meeting called a World Cafe to discuss the
achievement gap in Columbia. More than 300 citizens and
community leaders attended the meeting to discuss needs,
barriers, and best practices at school, in the community, at
home, and for children birth to five years of age.
Meeting notes
As a result of the community meeting in November, seven
community-led work groups have been established to dig deeper
into the achievement gap issues facing students, families,
schools, and the community. Additionally, representatives for
the
Minority Men's Network are helping us to guide the work group process.
See the links at left for more information on each of the work
groups.
Each work group is currently meeting to gather information and
have additional discussions. Another World Cafe was held on May
26, 2011, to
bring the additional information gathered by the work groups back
to the community for discussion, and another will be held on
November 10, 2011, to continue the conversation on next steps
toward eliminating the achievement gap in our community,
including common community goals. |