The Kauffman School is a public, tuition-free charter school serving Kansas City students. In the 2019-20 school year, the school enrolled 1,186 students in grades 5 through 12. Most (88 percent) of the students were low income, and 89 percent were Black or Hispanic. To measure the impact of the Kauffman School on its students, the authors…

This report shows significant gains in math achievement by Hispanic fourth- and eighth-graders across the nation--the equivalent of one grade level in the last ten years (2003-3013). Using data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Child Trends reviewed and compared fourth and eighth grade math scores in the nation, states, large…

This brief maps the national attendance gap--the who, what, when, where and why of absenteeism--using research drawn from national sources as well as attendance data gathered across states from students taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Health emerges again and again, both as a challenge and as a solution to improving…

Several scholars have asserted that the underrepresentation of minority students in gifted and talented education (GATE) programs is the result of biased assessment practices. However, an examination of the psychometric properties of scores on cognitive ability, achievement tests, and rating scales do not support these claims. We contend that the…

Advocates of uniform standards frequently argue that disparate standards produce unequal opportunities to learn. Holding some students to a lesser set of standards, the argument goes, discriminates against students at the low end of the standards spectrum. While states clearly establish different definitions of proficiency, little research…

This report provides a detailed portrait of Hispanic and White academic achievement gaps and how students' performance has changed over time at both the national and state levels. The report presents achievement gaps using reading and mathematics assessment data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for the 4th- and 8th-grade…

This report presents results of the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading at grades 4 and 8. Nationally representative samples of 213,100 fourth-graders and 168,200 eighth-graders participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading. At each grade, students responded to questions…

The purpose of this study was to examine ethnic and gender differences in using DISCOVER, a performance-based assessment, for identifying gifted students from diverse ethnicities. DISCOVER is an acronym which stands for Discovering Intellectual Strength and Capabilities while Observing Varied Ethnic Responses. The sample consisted of 941 boys and…

After eight years of implementing the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and other school reforms, how much progress have states, school districts, and schools made in raising achievement for students from all backgrounds and closing achievement gaps based on race, ethnicity, income, and gender? To help answer this question, the Center on…

The number of Hispanic students in the nation's public schools nearly doubled from 1990 to 2006, accounting for 60% of the total growth in public school enrollments over that period. Strong growth in Hispanic enrollment is expected to continue for decades, according to population projection by the U.S. Census Bureau. Using data from the 2006…

This report presents the results for Part I of the study focusing on the performance of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) fourth- and eighth-graders on the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading and mathematics. A national sample of approximately 10,100 AI/AN students at grades 4 and 8 participated in the 2007 reading…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) More Good, Less Bad, and Still Need for Improvement: Latest International Test Reveals U.S. Progress in Math and…

"The Condition of Education 2017" is a congressionally mandated annual report summarizing the latest data on education in the United States. This report is designed to help policymakers and the public monitor educational progress. This year's report includes 50 indicators on topics ranging from prekindergarten through postsecondary…

This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of a classroom event in which fourth and fifth grade students in a highly diverse urban school interpreted, discussed and responded to a district survey intended to illuminate the social climate of the city's schools, with a particular focus on race and racism. We drew on the three-dimensional…

Every day, we learn what works so students can make greater progress. Six years after No Child Left Behind's passage--and midway to the nation's goal of having students on grade level or better in reading and math by 2014--we have collected more data than ever before about the academic performance of our students and schools. This information…