Narrowing the Achievement Gap Requires Focus on Elementary School

Many years have been spent discussing how to address the achievement gap in our district.  We have made some strides toward narrowing the gap but even the Superintendent has conceded that they have been small steps.  His recent proposals for transformation in the middle schools as well as changes in the high school puts emphasis on closing the achievement gap starting in 6th grade. 

This is too late. 

I believe elementary school is where we have the best opportunity to narrow the gap, which presents in kindergarten, and set our students on a successful path to college readiness.

NJASK scores for grades 3-5 show alarming differences between white and black student performance within already ‘deleveled’ classrooms:

• Third grade language arts scores show a 13.8% gap in advanced proficient scores and 33.6% gap in partially proficient scores between black and white students. 
• Worse the third grade language arts scores indicate that nearly half of black students in third grade are reading below grade level. 
• In third grade math, the news is more dire with a 52% gap in advanced proficiency and 26% gap in partial proficiency between black and white students.
• The fifth grade results reflect similar gaps for language arts and math with 45% of black students still reading below grade level and nearly a third scoring ‘partially proficient’ in math.

The take-away from these test scores could not be more clear: we are sending far too many students to middle school who have not yet mastered the foundational skills necessary for them to thrive during the rest of their academic careers.

As the district turns it focus toward successful implementation of the newly approved Middle School Transformation Proposal and the Columbia High School Academic Placement Recommendations we must not lose sight of the need to properly prepare students before they enter secondary school.  It is critical that we start paving the road to college readiness in elementary school. Some ideas include:

Enhance the focus on literacy in elementary school

Studies indicate that students who are not proficient readers by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school.  The District has taken some positive steps to focus on literacy in elementary school including developing a stronger curriculum focused on reading a wider variety of texts as well as sharpening writing and verbal communication skills.

In Marshall School, one of our most talented teachers is providing pull-out reading support for struggling students.  This allows for targeted teaching to help these students catch up.  This is a necessary step to future success which should be a key program within all the elementary schools. 

In addition, mandated summer reading lists in elementary school are an excellent way to extend literacy development past the school year. Research tells us that summer break widens the achievement gap even further.  This is especially true of children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.  Trends show that there is an overall loss of approximately 2-3 months equivalency within reading ability of lower income children over summer vacation.  The District can use these reading lists to also help promote at-home learning during the summer months and kindergarten readiness. 

Students should return from summer break having read multiple books on a prescribed reading list that is challenging and engaging by grade level.  There should be written or verbal assignments during the first week of school which tie back to the summer reading. 

Parent support in building early childhood literacy during grades K-2 is also critical.  Partnerships that exist between Leap to Success, The Parenting Center and Achieve should be expanded upon to include School Board members and district Administration working collaboratively to drive parent engagement and student support.

Audit, monitor and refine support programs

The district’s Jumpstart program in elementary school offer many positive services including encouraging parent participation, language arts intervention and summer programs.  However, the feedback on Jumpstart is mixed on both effectiveness and entrance criteria.  A thorough audit of this program is required.  Data regarding the program’s effectiveness and impact should be openly shared and greater clarity provided about the enrollment criteria for families.  The program would also benefit from on-going monitoring.  This will not only gauge effectiveness but also inform future changes and refinements.  Additional ideas for math intervention in grades 3-5 should be considered within the context of any changes.

Develop a more well-rounded curriculum

While mastery of language arts and math skills is important in elementary school, this time also represents the best opportunity to build a love of learning and achievement.  For some children, social studies and science are subjects that engage them.  Unfortunately, there is not much time devoted to these subjects in elementary school.  The Common Core standards require reading more non-fiction text in science and social studies.   The curriculum needs to be reviewed with this in mind.  Teachers must be encouraged to do more inter-disciplinary lessons that tie in all core subjects so that students start building mastery within, and connection between, these subjects before they get to middle school. 

Create more opportunities to learn beyond the school day 

Afterschool Academic Enrichment is a wonderful opportunity to enhance in-class learning with support for those who need it and create additional challenges for students who wish to expand their knowledge base outside of the classroom.  While there is afterschool Enrichment presently in elementary school is it more ‘extra-curricular’ in nature, not academic.  Academic Enrichment creates concerted cultivation opportunities for all students, exposing them to references and ideas outside of classroom material alone.  There are cost effective ways to implement such programs.

Support teacher development on gender differences

Often lost in the discussion about the achievement gap is notice towards the widening gap between boys and girls in our district, with boys falling behind.  By elementary school age, boys display a different level of energy and attention than do girls.  They often don’t “play school” as well as girls.  Our elementary schools present the best opportunity to start narrowing the gender achievement gap through engagement strategies and topics that keep both boys and girls engaged.   In addition, small steps like providing a ‘Middle School Prep’ class to 5th graders can help students hone necessary organizational skills which are a factor in middle school grading criteria. 

Reduce social promotions

Sending children who have not mastered foundational skills in elementary school on to Middle school puts struggling students at a tremendous disadvantage, from which many never fully recover.  I believe this a key reason why students in Level 2 and 3 classes have not been able to springboard to higher level classes.  These students continue to compound their lack of proficiency in core subjects with a sub-standard curriculum in each year of Middle School.  This is not a formula for success.  Reducing the number of children who are promoted to the next grade without having mastered the necessary skills requires thoughtful consideration of ‘promotion criteria’.  If implemented, it will be terribly painful at first.  But without taking this step, we’re taking a tremendous gamble by throwing unprepared students into mixed classrooms less targeted to their needs and hoping that the support structures we have in place will be enough of a safety net. 

The elementary schools are our best chance to build critical foundational knowledge and raise all students up to a standard of performance that will enable them to soar in middle and high school.  We need to put increased focus on chipping away at the achievement gap and preparing children for academic success on the very first day of kindergarten.