How+do+we+close+the+achievement+gap?

This report focuses mainly on the needs of special education students and the considerations that must be taken in order to accommodate their difficulties in learning. What happens in many schools, the article details, is that children with learning disabilities or behavioral issues that inhibit their education are not given the proper assistance in the classroom. In many urban schools, these students compose a significant portion of the student population. Yet, because of lower funding in areas such as these, there are not as many opportunities to help students overcome these issues. On average, “special education costs more than twice as much per student” than mainstream education. Federal laws require all special needs students to be provided with a free public education, but some school systems do not have the funding to provide this. Many urban schools can barely afford to educate their regular population, never mind special needs students. The article details inclusion as being a possible solution to helping special needs students. While it’s important for special needs students to feel equal to their peers, the article also cites the need for reform in regular education as well. In a normal classroom, students in urban schools are going to get even less of the assistance they need because of larger class sizes and a lack of individual student-teacher time.
 * Research Question: How do we close the achievement gap?**
 * Author: Kelsey Lydon**
 * Learning Disabilities**

There is a substantial roadblock in closing the education gap between poorly funded urban schools and more affluent suburban schools. Students with learning disabilities in failing schools are suffering in silence. They are not provided with the programs that they need in urban areas, mainly because of lack of funding. When their costly education cannot be funded, they do not get the services they need, such as individual instruction, or classes pertaining to functioning independently. This creates large groups of students who are not learning adequately, yet are still expected to perform the same on standardized testing as their peers without learning or behavioral disabilities. This makes no sense. How can we expect these students to perform at the same level as their peers when their schools do not have the means to provide them with a proper education? This only widens the achievement gap between urban and suburban schools because there are more students with greater difficulties not being given the tools they need to be successful. Also, even if funding were to increase for these urban schools, it is still ridiculous to compare special needs students on the same levels as their peers. These students have either physical, emotional, and mental handicaps that can get in the way of any constructive instruction. To help narrow this gap, we need to find better ways to fund special education programs and adjust testing to their needs. We also need to readjust our mainstream urban classes to be smaller and more curriculum oriented so our special needs students can be included in a better environment. Kenneth Jost. (1993). Learning Disabilities: What is the best education for students with special needs? //CQ Researcher//, //3//(46), 1081-1104.


 * Revising No Child Left Behind**

The article detailing Obama’s reform of No Child Left Behind is intriguing in light of the emphasis on accelerating all schools to greatness. Bush’s original law has received harsh reactions from critics, saying it creates impossible standards for schools to reach without the support or means to do so. The concept of making every single child proficient on standardized tests by 2014 is highly improbable, considering how far behind many of our poorly funded urban schools are. “By overemphasizing standardized tests and unfairly labeling schools as underperforming without providing help to improve,” schools have been suffering unfairly with little federal funding and resources. Obama seeks to provide more support where it counts, like increasing graduation rates and literacy among students. Obama has also made it clear he strongly supports charter schools, both literally and figuratively. The article cites that this support needs to be extended to all of our public schools, not just charter schools.

No Child Left Behind reform is crucial in closing the education gap in the United States. While high expectations are an important aspect of accelerating schools to greatness, we need to make sure all of our schools are also equally funded and supported. No goals towards greatness can be reached until all of our schools have the right amount of funding depending on their student population, building conditions, etc. Schools need the money to provide an equal education for all and make sure their students are in a clean and healthy learning environment. Students need resources to learn, like computers and current text books. At my high school, all of our history books were made during the 1980s. This provided both students and teachers with significant roadblocks. When it came time for us to learn about America during the 1990s and early 2000s, we had no text resources available. Our teacher had to prepare that portion of the curriculum herself, and students had nothing but a Power Point presentation to study from. In addition, smaller classes are crucial for individual achievement, as well as achievement as a whole. In addition to the new reforms in expectations, schools need support from the government. They cannot be expected to achieve greatness without the assistance because reforms are much too costly for current budgets, and there is no way around the fact that education can be strengthened with the right resources. All of the financial/government support should not just be going to charter schools, which are smaller in quantity, but also to the more plentiful public schools because this is where the bulk of our students learn. Obama must keep in mind that charter schools may not be a practical reality for all students and their families, but this does not mean that their schools should not receive just as much attention.

Kenneth Jost. (2010). Revising No Child Left Behind, //20//(15), 337-360.


 * Achievement Gaps in Education**

The article about socioeconomic problems affecting education also brings up several crucial points about closing the education gap. Our students in urban schools often live in areas laden with poverty, violence, and absentee parents. It is obvious that, at home, many students do not receive the support they need to complete homework, study, or even learn to value the importance of education. This article shows that “a large fraction of the variation in student achievement is accounted for in out-of-school variables, such as the student’s community, home or peer group characteristics.” These elements greatly affect students attitudes towards learning and school. No matter how small class sizes are, how abundant resources are, or how rigorous the curriculum is, if students are not given emotional support from their school systems and teachers, there is little chance of success happening.

While I adamantly support proper funding and equal opportunities for students of urban schools to help close the education gap between suburban and urban schools, I also agree that students are affected greatly by their home environment and communities. Schools also need funding for councilors and emotional support for students. They need to know that there is someone there who values them and their education. Without support and confidence in themselves, students will not want to try to learn. We need to protect, value, and encourage our students to help them succeed. The majority of suburban students live in more affluent communities with parents who have the means of supporting their children, but this is a key factor that many urban students lack. If we help support these students, it will encourage them to succeed, which will help narrow the achievement gap and accelerate schools towards greatness.

Allan Ornstein. (2010). Achievement Gaps in Education, //47//(5), 424-429.


 * How Open-Source Curricula Could Bridge the Achievement Gap**

This article specifically analyzes the educational divide in this country. The author cites everything from federal funding down to the cost of text books. She shows that we really need heavy investments in our school system because closing this educational divide and insuring an equal education for all is our only hope for the future. She also details the problems students face, such as poverty and dropout rates. One of the more interesting focuses of the article, however, is her promotion of open-source curricula. One of her claims is that education may not be accessible to students, such as students who cannot maintain steady attendance rates due to transportation or home life circumstances. The author suggests open-source curricula as a way to make schooling and education easily accessible, which promotes learning excellence. Most students have access to a computer either through home or the library, so this would be a more ideal option for students who do not have the ability to steadily attend school. By making education more available, we could facilitate learning among the studentseven with the most unstable lifestyles. This would assist in closing the education gap among the poor and the more affluent with more stable lifestyles.

I truly believe that open-source curricula could be a great help for students with less stable lifestyles. Computer use is prominent among children and teens, and using this method of learning would also foster computer efficiency. If we make learning more readily available, we could educate more students and help close the education gap. Many urban students often live lives that cause interuption or gaps in their education, which weakens their overall grasp on learning. Special needs students also may have trouble conducting themselves in a normal classroom environment, and removing them for maybe an hour or so a day from regular study may help them focus and own what they are learning. Sometimes the distractions are too much for them. It is important they are included, but we also need to accommodate their learning needs. However, we need to make sure this system does not become abused. Students may decide to take part in an Open-Source program because they decide to slack off or do not want to attend school. We must make sure these programs, while more tailored to the students' needs, maintain rigorous standards and only include the students who truly need it.

Barbara Kurshan. (2007). How Open-Source Curricula Could Bridge the Education Devide, //21//(4), 29-32.

Overall Reaction to Your Research
There has been so much interesting literature that I have found about closing the achievement gap between suburban and urban schools. I believe that finding ways to support our schools, like the revisions in "No Child" seek to do will greatly improve our school systems. The system needs to be fairer to students and cannot discriminate against the masses of special education students through standardized testing. We must take into account the problems urban schools face, like understaffing and lack of funding/resources. We must provide support for these schools and give them the TLC that we seem to endow upon our successful suburban schools. The students in urban schools who face trials and tribulations at home must receive some support via the school system as well in order to promote emotional health and well-being, which in turn makes getting an education less tricky. Support is a huge factor in improving our urban schools, because if a student has the guidance he or she needs, it will help them become more confident in themselves and their work. We also need to provide differentiated methods of learning for our students as well, such as using open-source curricula programs. We need to make education more available to students who either cannot work in a classroom atmosphere or have issues with attendance. All in all, we need to not only reform and fund, but we need to make sure we are supporting our students as well in order to close the gap between suburban and urban schools.

Relevance in Rhode Island Schools
My research is pertinent to the reform of Rhode Island schools. Currently, the Rhode Island Strategic Plan seeks to "Accelerate All Schools to Greatness". Closing the gap between suburban and urban schools in Rhode Island is incredibly important to making sure all schools are great. Rhode Island does have some wonderful public schools. I saw this myself while I researched the Howard Hathaway Elementary School in Portsmouth. There are several schools scattered through out Rhode Island that perform on this level, and they all seem to have the same components: suburban, mainly middle class, and few special needs/ELL students. However, there are several schools that make it hard to appreciate the good ones, such as Central Falls, which is considerably more urban. In order to make sure all schools are great, we need to start giving our urban schools the attention they need. Several of the solutions I have found and described in my research could help improve the more urban schools of RI, like improving education for special education students, guidance services, and adjusting our standards to meet the needs of all learners. Closing the achievement gap is crucial in helping the Rhode Island Strategic Plan succeed.

//(‍KEL ‍)//