Mind the (Other) Gap! The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education

Download or read book Mind the (Other) Gap! The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education written by Jonathan A. Plucker and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report is intended to provide some preliminary excellence gap data and kick start the national discussion on the importance of excellence in the national and state K-12 education systems. After briefly summarizing recent literature on the excellence gap, the trends in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores along gender, racial, income, and English language lines are discussed, with a brief examination of excellence gaps as measured by state accountability assessments. Next, the degree to which achievement gaps at the advanced level may be connected to gaps at the basic and proficient level of achievement is considered. After a discussion of state and federal policies targeting high-ability students, an empirical analysis of the potential factors influencing the size and trend of excellence gaps is presented. Finally, conclusions as well as policy recommendations are offered. (Contains 17 figures, 9 tables and 21 footnotes.).