Current policy goals are designed to ensure all students are college and career ready resulting in a process of curricular intensification which should have significant impact on student coursetaking in high school. However, reforms have been pursued in the context of test-based accountability, which emphasizes assessment metrics as the primary…

NCLB seeks to level the playing field by narrowing class and racial gaps in school performance by establishing common expectations. No Child Left Behind Act (2001) increases the standards of accountability for states and schools, thus requiring educational leaders to rethink current school strategies. Holding individual schools accountable for the…

The authors examine whether standards based accountability reforms of the past two decades have closed the achievement gap among public and private high school students. They analyzed data from the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS) to examine sector differences in high school achievement in the era of standards based reforms. The authors found…

In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Missouri showed across-the-board gains--improvements in both reading and math at the basic, proficient and advanced levels for all racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls. Results on achievement gaps were mixed. Comparable data were…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Ohio for 2010. In grade 8 math (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Ohio showed a clear trend of gains for all major subgroups at the basic-and-above, proficient-and-above, and advanced levels, with one exception. In grade 8 reading,…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Nevada for 2010. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Nevada showed across-the-board gains--improvements in both reading and math at the basic, proficient and advanced levels for all racial/ethnic subgroups, low income…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in North Carolina for 2010. In grade 8 math (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), North Carolina made gains across the board for all major subgroups at the basic-and-above, proficient-and-above, and advanced levels. Progress in narrowing…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Minnesota for 2010. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Minnesota showed mostly gains in reading at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls. In math,…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Montana for 2010. In grade 8 reading (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Montana showed across-the-board gains at the basic-and-above, proficient-and-above, and advanced levels for the state's major racial/ethnic subgroups and…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Massachusetts for 2010. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Massachusetts showed across-the-board gains--improvements in both reading and math at the basic, proficient and advanced levels for all racial/ethnic subgroups, low…

More than one-fifth of the nation's public school students are Latino. By 2025, the share of Latino children is projected to increase to nearly 3 in 10 school-age children (Fry & Passel, 2009). The fast-growing Latino student population will shape the nation's future, so it is critical that these students are well-prepared for college,…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Maryland for 2010. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Maryland had data for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls at the proficient and advanced levels. The percentage of students reaching the…

The District's demographics are such that achievement trends could only be determined for African American, male and female, and low income subgroups. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Washington, DC students showed gains in both reading and math at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels…

In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), California students made gains across the board in reading at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls. In math, there were some declines at the basic achievement level. In terms of…

In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Colorado students showed gains in reading at the proficient level for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls. There were slight declines or flat trends for almost all subgroups at the advanced level in reading. In math, gains were…