Nebraska's
Racial Achievement Gap
Is Nearly
the Worst in the Nation
Quoted in the New
York Times this week as saying Nebraskans will probably be shocked to learn
that the racial achievement gap in reading and math is wider in Nebraska than
in the Southern states, Nebraska Department of Education chief Roger Breed said
the disparity is not acceptable.
When black children do significantly worse on
nationally-standardized tests than white children, in a wider disparity than
nearly anyplace else in the country, it raises an alarm for everything from
understanding the 50% minority dropout rate in Nebraska, to the strong
possibility of civil rights litigation, to the outlook for knowledge-based jobs
creation and economic development issues in the state.
The Times
reported that in eighth grade math, the average score for Nebraska's black
students in 2007 was 240 on a 500-point scale. That compares with the national
average for blacks of 259. The average score for black eighth graders was 246
in Alabama, 251 in Mississippi, 258 in Louisiana, and 261 in Georgia.
In contrast, the average score for white eighth
graders in Nebraska in math was 291, almost exactly the national average,
resulting in a black-white gap in the Cornhusker State of 51 points, far larger
than in any other state, according to the report.
The study was based on results of the 2007 National
Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, prepared by the National Center
for Education Statistics:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/gaps/
Nationally, the difference in reading and math NAEP
test scores between white students and black students is approximately
equivalent to 2½ years of schooling, according to the Times. Even though the gap is wide, it used to be wider 15 years
ago, the statistics show. Educators blame the gap on the legacy of slavery,
racism and poverty among African-Americans.
Local observers add that the wrong methods of
teaching math and reading in the early grades have been prevalent in Nebraska
for decades. What children of all demographic groups and income levels need to
excel is systematic, intensive, explicit phonics reading instruction, and a
back-to-the-basics curriculum for math as well, to provide a more solid
academic base, they say.
Often, the math and reading deficits of Nebraska
minority students are concealed in the overall scores, which are at the
national average. To many, it was a surprise to see that Northern states,
including Nebraska, had a wider achievement gap than the states in the Old
South. The size of that gap is a shock, too. In Nebraska, the math gap in the
average test scores reflects a disparity of around 5 years of schooling.
A look at the results shows that in reading, the
picture is no better. For fourth-grade reading, Nebraska's overall score of 223
is slightly higher than the national average for public schools, 220. But black
4th-graders in Nebraska scored only 194, a racial achievement gap of
36 points, or about 3½ grade levels, in the key skill of reading.
Only the District of Columbia, with a gap of 67
points, and Wisconsin, with 38, did worse in terms of a racial gap in
fourth-grade reading. Note that eight states, including the Dakotas and
Wyoming, do not have enough African-American students to produce a
statistically significant average and were excluded from the results.
The Times
reported that Wisconsin was the only state in which the black-white achievement
gap in 2007 was larger than the national average in the tests for fourth and
eighth grades in both math and reading, according to the study.
Homework:
There's never been a
better time to think creatively, when it comes to fixing Nebraska's educational
problems. Here are the seven traits of "No Excuses" schools, where
disadvantaged children are making exceptional progress. These cost relatively
little and provide great results:
www.heritage.org/press/commentary/ed091503b.cfm
