Educational Leadership - December 2009/January 2010

We have to focus on conditions
beyond school
to compensate
for the deficits
that many
students
experience
in life outside
the classroom.

a teacher, little difference exists by race and ethnicity. However, on measures that require greater involvement, such as volunteering or serving on a committee, larger differences emerge. In 2003, 48 percent of white parents reported volunteering or serving on a committee, compared with 32 percent of black parents and 28 percent of Hispanic parents.

The trend: The good news is that
parent involvement showed an increase
from 1999 to 2003 for all racial and
ethnic groups. The gaps among groups
narrowed for attending a school event
but remained about the same on meas-
ures requiring greater involvement.

Rigor of the Curriculum

Research supports the unsurprising fact that students’ academic achievement is closely related to the rigor of the curriculum. There has been progress across all groups in taking a “midlevel” curriculum in high school. A midlevel curriculum is defined as at least four credits in English and three each in social studies, mathematics, and science; completion of geometry and Algebra II; at least two courses in biology, chemistry, and physics; and at least one credit in a foreign language.

The trend: The gap in taking a midlevel curriculum in high school has closed between black and white students, with 51 percent of blacks and 52 percent of whites completing a midlevel curriculum. There has been no narrowing of the gap between whites and Hispanics, however, with only 44 percent of Hispanics completing a midlevel curriculum in 2005. The gaps have changed little since 2002.

Teacher Preparation Teacher quality is strongly related to student achievement. Yet sizeable gaps exist among racial/ethnic groups in the percentage of students whose teachers

are fully certified. In 2007, 88 percent of white 8th graders had certified teachers compared with 80 percent of black 8th graders and 81 percent of Hispanic 8th graders. There are also gaps among students whose teachers have a major or minor in the subjects they teach.

The trend: There has been little change in the gaps in teacher certification among groups. However, for teachers prepared in a given subject matter, the gap between Hispanic and white students increased from 2003, whereas the gap between black and white students remained about the same.

Teacher Experience

Research has shown that the amount of teaching experience has an effect on student achievement. Specifically, having five or more years of teaching experience makes a difference. The gaps by race and ethnicity are large; black and Hispanic students tend to have less experienced teachers. In 2007, 20 percent of white 8th graders had teachers with four or fewer years of experience; this was the case for 28 percent of black 8th graders and 30 percent of Hispanic 8th graders.

The trend: The gaps have remained unchanged from 2003 to 2007.

Teacher Absence and Turnover

More minority students than white students attend classes in which teachers are frequently absent. In 2007, 8 percent of white 8th graders experienced high teacher absence rates compared with 11 percent of black 8th graders and 13 percent of Hispanic 8th graders. Many more have teachers who leave before the end of the school year. Such disruptions have a negative effect on student achievement.