What the difference in test scores shows is that some groups of students do better at taking written standardized, mainly multiple choice with some short answer, tests in a designated time period. Therefore saying there is an "achievement gap" is a misnomer - it has nothing to do with achievement. Written, standardized tests simply do not measure achievement.
As an example: A number of years ago, as a Visiting Professor, I taught a Child Development course to undergraduate students who were majoring in Education. For the final exam/project I told the students that I wanted to assess if they had learned the material over the course of the semester. I gave them the choice of how they wanted to be assessed. (They could write a paper, develop an exam, make a video, write a story or poem or play, choreograph a dance, meet with me for a discussion, or any other method of their choosing.)
One of my students, who was majoring in Physical Education, chose to come meet with me for a discussion. I had noticed over the course of the semester that he had difficulty with most of the written assignments, including the multiple choice questions assigned with each chapter. He participated fairly often in class and his comments were typically thoughtful and insightful. Needless to say we had a rich discussion during his "final" and he showed a deep understanding of the material, better than the majority of students in the class.
The sad part was he ended up dropping out of Education. Most of his teachers had discouraged him because he couldn't pass
their (dare I say antiquated) methods for assessing his learning. He would have made an incredible PE teacher!
Words do matter. But by being concerned about the terminology used to describe the difference in test scores we are implicitly agreeing that there is an "achievement gap." I would argue that if we were to be as diverse in our methods of assessment as our students are then we would find the difference in achievement would be a whole lot smaller than we think.
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Deborah Abelman
Watertown MA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-09-2017 03:35 PM
From: Kyra Ostendorf
Subject: Does it matter what we call the the "achievement gap?"
I believe that words do matter. Words shape our conceptualization, how we define issues. They can either open up our thinking about solutions or close it off. So, here's my dilemma. What wording helps people more immediately know what we're talking about. People understand "achievement gap". My stomach churns, however, when the definition is limited to test scores. There's so much more to success in school than test scores. There are so many missed opportunities.
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Kyra Ostendorf
Minneapolis, MN
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-08-2017 04:48 PM
From: Maurice Sykes
Subject: Does it matter what we call the the "achievement gap?"
Some people say that calling the difference in test scores among children of different races and ethnicities an achievement gap blames the victims, the children. What's really happening, they say, is that poverty, racism, punitive public and school policies, etc. have created an opportunity gap that works against what should be a positive learning environment for each child. This causes some people to ask: "Does it really matter what we call it as long as we fix it?"
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Maurice Sykes
Early Childhood Leadership Institute @ UDC
Washington DC
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