Tackling the Achievement Gap

It’s been called the civil rights issue of our time. But what exactly is the Achievement Gap, and, more importantly, what does it look like in Cambridge?

Also - why is there a gap? What are the solutions? What have we tried, what is working, and what else should we try?

The question of how to define the achievement gap in Cambridge cropped up on the School Committee last year when we found ourselves in the middle of a conflicting situation. According to some reports, it looked like we were making progress in closing the gap; according to others, we were not. Turns out, it all depended on which definition was being used.

That’s when I got the idea that the School Committee should sponsor a series of forums on the achievement gap. The first forum would focus on definitions, especially the definition being used by the school administration and the principals now. The second one would focus on contributing factors -- or the reasons for the gap. The third would focus on potential solutions that involve the schools, families and the community. We would invite guest experts to speak, but also experts from our own school system.

Long story short, there is now an Ad-Hoc Achievement Gap subcommittee of the School Committee meeting weekly (every Wednesday at noon) to plan these forums. I am the chair of the subcommittee. As of this post, we are planning the first forum for later this spring, with others to follow later this fall.

I believe this is a very exciting and ambitious project. I don’t know of any city that is planning such a big community-wide event on this very important topic. (If anyone knows of one, please let me know!)

We started our planning work in the first week of January. Already, the superintendent has surveyed all 13 school councils to ask them: How do you define the achievement gap in your school? As you might expect, the answers varied widely.

One of my goals is for us to learn more about the students who are failing. On the Committee, we are very used to looking at the percentages of students in all sort of categories who score less than proficient on MCAS tests. But how many students are we talking about at each school? Did they go to preschool? Do their parents/guardians attend parent-teacher conferences? What else do we know about these children?

Researchers have identified many patterns in the lives of students that can help both teachers and families to understand some of the basics of school success and the kind of dynamics that can work against it. One of these researchers is Ronald Ferguson, director of Harvard’s Achievement Gap Initiative, who I interviewed recently for the November/December 2006 issue of the Harvard Education Letter.

Anyway, I am excited by how many people have already sent letters and e-mails with suggestions and/or who have come to our meetings. We got a very thoughtful letter, for example, from the Cambridge 0-8 Council, who will be sending a representative to our weekly meetings.

Certainly, we won’t be able to cover every angle of this incredibly complex topic. But as one member said, “At least we can get clarity, if not consensus.” I think clarity can go along way toward rallying the whole community around this important cause. And if that happens, I think we’ll see some substantial progress in closing “the Gap” -- as well as enriching the educational experience of all our students at the same time.