Achievement Gap at all levels.

I came across a really interesting article in my NCTE blog again, and I wanted to bring it up because I just spent time with one of my students from last year who is now a freshman at City College High and making great grades. The study showed that the gap between high-achieving white and black students is higher than the gap at the low end. Apparently, it's because high-achieving black students are often in all-black schools. According to the article from Education Week, “'It appears on average to be worse for a child to be in a school with a high black enrollment share, but it’s not clear why,”' said Mr. Rivkin. '“It could be important given the recent [U.S.] Supreme Court decision on desegregation,” he added, referring to a ruling in June of last year that sharply limited schools from using race to assign students to schools.'"

The article lists a lot of reasons, but I can certainly give a few based on my teaching experiences over the last two years. My highest-achieving students don't have very many opportunities for enrichment--no gifted program, just one Algebra class, and no advanced resources. As a middle school student, I was taking six classes, including a weekly all-day gifted class. I improved in school because of expectations and opportunity, which my students don't experience in the same way. I also think that racial diversity, in addition to religious, linguistic, etc., provides learning opportunities that enrich and strengthen learning.

I had students in my classes who were very different from me, and I learned a lot from them over the course of my schooling.

I also had an interesting comment from one of my students at the beginning of the year. He said that he was in a private school last year, and he had to be very competitive because the white students didn't expect him to do well. While I obviously don't want students to become racist in their profiling of other students, I also think that a culture of achievement and competition is the best kind of classroom in our educational structure. Theoretically, everyone wins if they pass, so competition is good in the classroom.

Lastly, I think that our students, many of whom have limited mobility in and out of the city. Letting them learn with other students would be a great opportunity. Even if students who get bussed to the suburbs don't improve their scores, they could thrive here in Baltimore if they are offered more opportunities to improve.