2014 Achievement Gaps

Kentucky still has substantial statewide achievement gaps to wrestle, starting with elementary reading.

In addition to seeing that the gaps are large, do note three other parts of the pattern:

• The gap group has the same level of proficiency as the free and reduced-price meal group. (The gap group includes all students in the six other under-served groups shown above.)
• Students with limited English proficiency have the lowest scores, followed by students with disabilities.
• American Indian or Alaska native students have the highest scores of these groups, followed by Hispanic students
• Every sub-group scores below the all students results, and only American Indian or Alaska Native students get within five points.

Here's that same pattern for middle school reading, differing only in there being no groups with a gap smaller than five points.

And it is again for high school reading, again with all gaps larger than five points.

A complete set of graphs would make a massive post, so I'll settle for noting that these patterns are amazingly consistent. Across all six tested subjects (reading, math, science, social studies, writing, and language mechanics) and at all three levels:

• The gap group has the same level of proficiency as the free and reduced-price meal group, except that the two are one point apart in elementary social studies and writing and in high school language mechanics. 

• Students with limited English proficiency have the lowest scores, followed by students with disabilities, except that they switch places in high school mathematics whild still the two lowest scoring groups.

• American Indian/Alaska native students have the highest scores of these groups, followed by Hispanic students, except that they are tied in high school science and writing and switch places in middle school writing.  

• All of these groups have results below the "all students" group, except that American Indian and Alaska native students match all students in elementary social studies and outscore all students in high school social studies.  American Indian and Alaska native students also have results within five points of all students in seven other cases, but are the only group to get that close.

--Posted by Susan Perkins Weston

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