Poverty not a good excuse for failures, schools chief says

from the Monterey Herald

Gap in achievement not closing
By JULIET WILLIAMS

SACRAMENTO — Education leaders have accepted for too long the notion that poverty is the main cause of underachievement for certain groups of students and that there is little schools could do about it, the state schools superintendent said Tuesday.

That attitude, and the assumptions that underlie it, is no longer acceptable in California, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell told thousands of educators who convened for a two-day summit.

O'Connell called the meeting to address the achievement gap between different groups of students, primarily black and Latino students and their white and Asian counterparts.

He said greater focus on rigorous curriculum has boosted achievement for many students.

"But the data also clearly shows us that the achievement gap is not closing, nor is it solely based on poverty," he said. "We have a racial achievement gap also."

The summit comes as state leaders are increasingly focusing on education issues ahead of 2008, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared "The Year of Education."

Researchers and experts urged school leaders not to ignore research that shows all students can learn if they have the same resources and are held to the same expectations.

Improving academic performance among all groups of students has proven to be a monumental challenge, however. Few solutions have emerged.

O'Connell, a Democrat, appointed a statewide council to consider the suggestions that arise from the two-day gathering and make recommendations to him. The superintendent said he will offer his own recommendations during his annual State of Education Address early next year.

Douglas Reeves, a researcher at the Colorado-based Center for Performance Assessment, said it's a myth to believe that cultural differences account for students' varying levels of interest in school.

He said research shows all students value high achievement levels in the earliest grades but that interest in academic success tapers off as children get older. That is a failure of schools, he said, not students or parents.

"We're the ones responsible for the culture in our schools," where trophy cases typically celebrate athletics, not academics, he said.

The most recent statewide achievement tests showed California students made only slight gains last year in English and none in math. Meanwhile, double-digit achievement gaps between students in different racial categories persisted.

Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, said the problem is too urgent for politicians to continue debating it.