School accountability systems have the potential to be a powerful tool to help close the long-standing gaps in achievement that separate low-income students and students of color from their peers. They can do this by: (1) Setting a clear expectation that schools have to serve all of their students--not just some--well; (2) Drawing attention to how…

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

Public education has long been the subject of public discontent. Historical events such as the Soviet launch of "Sputnik" in 1957, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and repeated media reports that U.S. students were outscored by students in many other countries on international tests each prompted federal and state…

This study examines trends in Black student achievement and in the Black-White achievement gap over the period 2000 to 2007, employing data from ten states drawn from the NAEP Grade 8 mathematics assessments. Results are obtained for three levels of aggregation: the state, school poverty stratum within the state, and schools within poverty…

Recent scores on state tests show that middle grades students have made some progress in meeting their state's academic standards over the last half-decade. Yet a closer look at state standards indicates that too many Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states have set them too low. Quite a few states have taken steps to improve their…

This year the Center on Education Policy analyzed data on the achievement of different groups of students in two distinct ways. First, it looked at grade 4 test results to determine whether the performance of various groups improved at three achievement levels--basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced. Second, it looked at gaps between…