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Alameda County, CA | November 5, 2002 Election |
Achievement Gap BibliographyBy Shirley IsselCandidate for Member, Board of Directors; Berkeley Unified School District | |
This information is provided by the candidate |
Having sought to identify and study the best research based thinking on the causes of the Achievement Gap, I have assembled a small library of what I consider to be key articles, books, papers, organizations and web sites on this important issue within our community.ACHIEVEMENT GAP BIBLIOGRAPHY by Shirley Issel LCSW, President, Berkekey School Board Discussion: During the past two years that I have served on the BUSD School Board, I have attempted to understand the nature of the Achievement Gap that exists in between Asian and Caucasian students and Blacks, Hispanics, both in Berkeley and the rest of the country. I have also sought to identify and study the best research based thinking on the causes of the Achievement Gap. Finally, I have tried to synthesize this material into some preliminary policy questions and recommendations for BUSD.
ACHIEVEMENT GAP BIBLIOGRAPHY
THINK TANKS AND INSTITUTES Brookings Institution: Brown Center on Education Policy <http://www.brook.edu/gs/brown/brown_hp.htm> Tom Loveless, Director The Brown Center conducts research on topics in American education, with a special focus on efforts to improve academic achievement K-12. "By producing research grounded in clear-headed analysis rather than ideological assumptions or fads, the center seeks to inform all educational stakeholders." (David Gergin)
THE EDUCATION TRUST, WASHINGTON, D.C. & OAKLAND, CAThe Education Trust is a non profit organization whose mission is to help state and local leaders build broad-based vehicles to mount and sustain K-16 reform. These K-16 councils include not only education leaders and policymakers, but also parent, community and business representatives. In our community the Berkeley Alliance is our K-16 Council. 1. "Dispelling the Myth: High Poverty Schools Exceeding Expectations." Explores the six common characteristics of high performing, high poverty schools. Can be downloaded on the Ed Trust Web site (click on publications). Copy and summary is also available in the Education Trust "copy binder" in the Instructional Services Library. 2. "Good Teaching Matters: How Well-Qualified Teachers Can Close the Gap." A Thinking K-16 report that puts forth a documented and well argued proposition that schools can succeed with minority and high poverty children simply by providing effective teachers who teach students what they need to know to perform at high levels. Can be downloaded on the Ed Trust Web site (click on publications). Copy is available in the Education Trust "copy binder." 3. "Not Good Enough: A Content Analysis of Teacher Licensing Examinations." A Thinking K-16 report that refers to a growing body of research that demonstrates a simple fact: teacher quality is the single most important factor in student achievement. They make a case for offering ongoing professional support for current teachers and rigorous preparation for intending teachers. In "copy binder" and can be downloaded on the Ed Trust Web site (click on publications). 4. "Ticket to Nowhere: The Gap Between Leaving High School and Entering College and High-Performance Jobs." A Thinking K-16 report which documents the low performance standards that lead entering freshman to score so low on placement exams that they wind up in remedial courses. The focus is on the changes needed in "both higher education and K-12 . . . to turn this pattern around. Can be downloaded on the Ed Trust Web site (click on publications). Copy is also available in the Education Trust "copy binder." 5. "Honor in the Boxcar: Equalizing Teacher Quality." A Thinking K-16 report that offers ideas for professional development to deepen teachers content knowledge and other means of equalizing teacher quality for all students. Can be downloaded on the Ed Trust Web site (click on publications). Copy is also available in the Education Trust "copy binder." 6. "Standards in Practice." SIP is a six-step, easy to understand and implement, team based professional development, and quality control process that can be used to align any assignment or program with state or local content standards. Complete description with samples of student writing is available in the Ed Trust "copy binder." By insuring that teachers, parents and Principals all understand standards, this process ensures that all students are held to the same standards. Recommendations are thus in alignment with strategies recommended by the authors of "The Black-White Test Score Gap."
ARTICLES, BOOKS, WEB SITES & REPORTS 1. Thin Ice: "Stereotype Threat" and Black College Students by Claude M. Steele. <http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99aug/9908stereotype.htm> Argues that "When capable black college students fail to perform as well as their white counterparts, the explanation often has less to do with preparation or ability than with the threat of stereotypes about their capacity to succeed." Stanford educators report their findings and propose solutions. Steel is also a member of the National Task Force on Minority High Achievement who issued the 1999 College Board report, Reaching the Top. See Articles "copy binder." 2. "Will Tracking Reform Promote Social Equity?" by Tom Loveless. This article reviews research on tracking and cautions educators that the relevant research demonstrates "no convincing evidence . . . that tracking has a special, adverse effect on the achievement of African American, Latino, or disadvantaged students. Nor does the research show that these students achieve at higher levels in untracked settings. Article cautions that tracking may depress the achievement of high performing minorities. Published in Educational Leadership/April 1999. See Articles "copy binder." 3. "Beyond the Classroom" by Laurence Steinberg. This book is based upon a comprehensive national study of High School students, Steinberg writes convincingly that events outside the classroom (peer and parental values and behaviors) have the biggest impact on student achievement. Copy of book is available and Chapter 5 is in the Articles "copy binder." 4. "The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System." (TVAAS) <Http://shearonforschools.com/TVAAS_index.html> Unlike other state wide accountability programs which rank schools by how their students score on standardized tests, TVAAS provides information to teachers, parents and the public on how schools are doing in helping each child make academic gains each year. Findings indicate that the least served students in Tennessee are high performing students of color. Schools and districts can contract for TVAAS services using our data. 5. Frontline: PBS Secrets of the SAT. Click on: "The Test Score Gap" You will find articles ("Thin Ice") interviews & relevant links)
NATIONAL TASK FORCE REPORTS
NATIONAL NETWORKS
LOCAL REPORTS
"Kindergarten Readiness" of Students Enrolled in the Berkeley Public Schools. December 1998. Prepared by Hatchuel, Tabernik & Associates. Impetus for this project came from the District's focus on early literacy (see the Literacy Plan) and the City-led Prenatal to Preschool Initiative. Results indicate those children coming to Kindergarten from Head Start and the districts Early Childhood/childcare centers are not competitive in terms of "readiness" with children coming from private preschools. Authors recommend that " . . . the district needs to develop a definition (of `Kindergarten Readiness') that all teachers understand, and one that can be clearly communicated to preschools, parents and other community members and organizations who share the responsibility for preparing Berkeley children for a successful transition into elementary school."
"School Linked Services" Sept, 1998.Prepared by Hatchuel, Tabernik & Associates. The report provides a comprehensive catalogue of current school-linked services at each school site. The Healthy Start Program, 21st Century Program and State After School Learning and Safe Neighborhoods Program have all encouraged the development of on site, tutorial, enrichment, cultural, recreational, social, legal, nutritional, and health/mental health services. The report is both a resource and a tool for measuring program effectiveness.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS The Berkeley Alliance <http://www.iurd.ced.berkeley.edu/alliance/index.html> The Berkeley Alliance is a partnership of the University of California, the City of Berkeley and BUSD dedicated to improving the quality of life in Berkeley. Through the Alliance, the partners collaborate on projects of mutual benefit, mobilizing community resources and developing creative approaches to challenges State of California Standards <http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci> The State standards (called "the best in the Country" by Tom Loveless, Director of the Brookings Institution Brown Center on Education) describe the content students should master by the end of each grade level. The framework elaborates on those standards and describes specific grade-level, standards-based instruction necessary to help students achieve the levels of mastery." State Standards and Frameworks are available on line at the California State Board of Education.
BOOK REVIEW "The Black-White Test Score Gap," by Meredith Phillips and Christopher Jencks Reviewed by Shirley Issel
What DOES Play a Role in the Gap
Copyright 2002 by Shirley A. Issel |
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