New Frontiers for a New Century: A National Overview is the title of the latest issue of Thinking K-16, published quarterly by the Education Trust. Authors Kati Haycock, Craig Jerald and Sandra Huang argue that we need to consider bold solutions to reduce the achievement gap that has plagued American education for decades. To assist educators and policymakers in doing this, Ed Trust has since 1996 biennially published Education Watch, a book of national and state data on student achievement and opportunity. This issue of Thinking K-16 is a guide to the online version of Education Watch, which surveys a decade's worth of data. By highlighting dramatically different NAEP scores earned by students of similar socioeconomic backgrounds in various states, the authors aim to dispel the pervasive myth that "student achievement has much more to do with a child's background than with the quality of instruction he or she receives." One staggering finding is that, on the 1998 NAEP 8th grade writing test, black students' average scale scores ranged from 121 points in Arkansas to 146 points in Texas--a difference equivalent to approximately 2.5 years of instruction! There are similarly shocking results for other ethnic groups and subjects. States that get superb test results (relative, at least, to their counterparts) are designated "frontier states." Ed Trust concludes from their success that state and local education policy is a strong determinant of classroom achievement. If minority students everywhere scored as high as in the frontier states, Ed Trust argues, the national achievement gap would shrink rapidly, if not nearly disappear. Which is not to say that the frontier states are perfect models. A frontier state may lead the nation in Latino scores on 4th grade reading, for example, yet still have a wide gap between its Latino and white students. Ed Trust notes that the frontier "is not a final destination, but rather the farthest point anyone has reached yet." What can we do to ensure that all students achieve at high levels? Ed Trust offers some advice: 1) Set clear standards for what all students must learn; 2) Implement assessment and accountability systems capable of providing accurate information and signaling needed improvements; 3) Design rigorous standards-aligned curricula; 4) Place a highly competent teacher at the head of every classroom (which Ed Trust considers the single most important factor in ensuring that students learn); 5) Provide extra time and instruction for those who need it; and 6) Close funding gaps between districts with high and low concentrations of poor students. All these elements, taken together, would go a long way toward obliterating the achievement gap within the next decade. Encouraging, informative, and full of useful charts and tables, this report is worth reading. View it online at http://www.edtrust.org/or order a printed copy from The Education Trust for $2.50 shipping and handling by calling them at 202-293-1217.
