foolmenot.comSo… the gap between white and black students between third and seventh grade is widening--- and the response is that the teachers are too dumb to teach fourth, fifth, and sixth grade math??? And that the math books are old???? That’s what it says here…
‘‘Another reason for the gap is that the state has increased math expectations in grades three to eight. In poorer districts, Shakrani said, professional development for teachers and more advanced books haven't caught up.”
So…. What kind of math is taught to third, fourth, and fifth grade students? Is it now calculus? I don’t think so... I think it’s the basic stuff that has always been taught to third, fourth, and fifth grade students. But it is only in the “poorer” districts???
What a horrible thing to say about these teachers; that they are too stupid to teach third, fourth, and fifth grades kids… This is the result of the Democratic “great society”… Nothing more; certainly nothing less… Generation after generation of kids kept in poverty, growing up, having kids, etc., etc., and all by their Democratic masters; just another voting block…
Full article follows…
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
By Judy Putnam
Booth Newspapers
Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- The achievement gap between Michigan's white and black students widens dramatically between third and seventh grades, particularly in math, new MEAP reports indicate.
Statewide, the percent of students considered proficient in math dropped across the board by the eighth grade. But the drop was accelerated among black and economically disadvantaged students.
It's the first time Michigan has tested students in every grade from three to eight in math and in English language arts. Michigan Educational Assessment Program scores were released last week for tests taken in the fall.
Among white students, 92 percent were considered proficient in math in third grade, compared with 71 percent of black students.
By eighth grade, 72 percent of white students were proficient, compared with 34 percent of black students.
That means there is a 38-point gap in eighth-grade math scores between white and black students. The gap is even larger among seventh-graders -- 41 percentage points.
Falling math scores have grabbed the attention of lawmakers and Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who are debating ways to help improve them.
Michigan State University education professor Sharif Shakrani, co-director of the MSU Education Policy Center, said the achievement gap is a nationwide problem, but it tends to be greater in Michigan because the state's black students are more concentrated in poorer, urban districts.
He said white students, more likely to attend school in affluent suburban districts, have more teachers who majored or minored in math and are certified to teach high school math. Teachers in urban districts, with a large concentration of the state's black students, are more likely to be generalists with a K-8 teaching certificate, he said.
Another reason for the gap is that the state has increased math expectations in grades three to eight. In poorer districts, Shakrani said, professional development for teachers and more advanced books haven't caught up.
"While content has become more rigorous, the instruction has remained the same,'' Shakrani, who is considered an expert in student achievement, said Monday.
Ray Telman, executive director of the Middle Cities Education Association, said the financial squeeze for urban districts, caused by the flight of students and funding to schools of choice and charters, makes it more difficult to pay for professional development or new textbooks.
"There hasn't been a focus on professional development,'' said Telman, who represents mid-sized urban districts. "There hasn't been revenue to provide it because resources have been shrinking.''
Telman said next year's test results will be more enlightening on the achievement gap because they will show if the gap is widening or closing.
Shakrani said that school districts must find a way to work smarter with the money they have.
"We can't wait. These kids are going to school now,'' he said.
Shakrani said achievement gaps are coming into sharper focus because of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which requires states to separate out test scores by gender, race, poverty and disability.
"If you don't bring the problem to the surface, you're never going to be able to deal with it,'' Shakrani said.
Policy-makers have been trying to drive up math achievement, worried that U.S. students are scoring poorly when compared to their international peers.
In Michigan, this year's budget has $3.8 million for intermediate school districts to focus on middle-school math achievement, including professional development. Granholm has also proposed $15 million for the budget year starting Oct. 1 for after-school programs that would give more math, science and computer technology help to middle-school students. Schools not making Adequate Yearly Progress, based on MEAP scores, would be first in line for the money.
A proposal by Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, would grant an extra $49 per middle school pupil this year to help raise achievement in math, for a total of $18.5 million. That bill has passed the House and is pending in the state Senate.
"The statistics are alarming,'' Moolenaar said of the achievement gap. "I think the challenge with math is to help students understand the relevance to their daily lives and to their future opportunities.''
Among other groups measured, students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch also lagged wealthier students. By eighth grade, there was a 27-point achievement gap in math between the economically disadvantaged and wealthier students.
Among the racial groups, Asian Americans scored higher than white students, while Hispanics scored lower, but not as low as black students in math and in English language arts.
The scores also showed a gap in English language arts between male and female students, with females scoring 13 percentage points above males. Males scored one point higher in math and two points higher in science in fifth grade.
The demographic report is available at www.michigan.gov/mde. Click on "Fall 2005 MEAP results" then "State Demographic Report."