NEWMEXICO'SACADEMICACHIEVEMENTGAPS:ASYNTHESISOFSTATUS,CAUSES,ANDSOLUTIONS

AWHITEPAPER

JULY1,2017

JOSEPHP.MARTINEZ,PH.D.DIRECTOROFRESEARCHANDEVALUATION

CENTERFORPOSITIVEPRACTICES

ThisanalysisandsynthesisofeducationalachievementgapsinNewMexicowasrequestedbytheNewMexicobasedCoalitionfortheMajority,whichincludesvariousinstitutions,organizations,andindividualssupportingtheNewMexicoEnglishLearnerTeacherPreparationAct.

NationG4Math

NMG4Math

NationG8Math

NMG8Math

NationG4Reading

NMG4Reading

NationG8Reading

NMG8Reading

Advanced 7 3 8 3 8 4 3 1ProIicient 32 24 24 17 27 19 29 19Basic 42 47 38 41 33 31 42 45BelowBasic 19 27 30 39 32 46 25 35

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IntroductionandFocus...........................................................................................................................................3Outline.......................................................................................................................................................................3Methodology...........................................................................................................................................................3

AchievementGapStatus.........................................................................................................................................4NationalandState-LevelEducationalAchievementGaps..................................................................4Generalities.........................................................................................................................................................5LongitudinalPatterns.....................................................................................................................................8NativeAmericanNational/StateComparisons................................................................................11

Within-StateEducationalAchievementGaps........................................................................................12JusttheFacts...................................................................................................................................................12Gender................................................................................................................................................................13DisaggregationbySpecialServices.......................................................................................................16

AchievementGapCauses.....................................................................................................................................18Segregation,Desegregation,andIntegration.........................................................................................18UnitsofAnalysis.................................................................................................................................................18RelatedtoEthnicity......................................................................................................................................19Socio-EconomicStatus................................................................................................................................21LanguageBarriers.........................................................................................................................................22TheShortList..................................................................................................................................................22

TheCausesofAchievementGapsWithinNewMexico......................................................................22PromisingPracticesforReducingGaps........................................................................................................24FindingandSiftingThroughPromisingPractices...............................................................................25NationalStrategies............................................................................................................................................25NewMexico'sStrategicHistory...................................................................................................................26PromisingPractices..........................................................................................................................................28ImprovingAchievementofStudentsofColor...................................................................................29ImprovingtheEducationofEnglishLearners..................................................................................31InstructionalMethods.................................................................................................................................32In-SchoolActionResearch........................................................................................................................34

Summary................................................................................................................................................................36References..................................................................................................................................................................38AppendixA:LegislativeHistory.......................................................................................................................45

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INTRODUCTIONANDFOCUS

DuringthedecadesafterBrownv.BoardofEducationtherewasterrificprogress.Tensofthousandsofpublicschoolswereintegratedracially.Duringthattimethegapbetweenblackandwhiteachievementnarrowed.

JonathanKozol(firedasateacherforsharingaLangstonHughespoem)

ThepurposeofthisWhitePaperistoreviewandsynthesizesomecurrentresearchpreferablyconductedinNewMexicoregardingtheeducationalachievementgapfacedbytwoacademicallylower-achievingethnicsub-groups:Hispanic/LatinoandNativeAmericanstudents.Theseethnicpopulationsaccountfor48percentand10.5percentrespectivelyofthetotalNewMexicopopulation(USCB,2015update)andabout60percentand10percentrespectivelyofthestatepubliceducationsystem(Ballotpedia,2016).

Achievementgapsaremostoftenthoughtofasthedifferencesbetweenpopulationgroupsorsubgroupsbasedonaveragescoresorthepercentageofstudentsfallingintopresetproficiencylevelsonstandardizedtests.Forschools,closingthegapusuallymeansnarrowingthedifferenceinthegroupscores,ideallywiththegoaloferasingthedifferencesaltogether.

Thereasonsforknowingaboutandunderstandingtheimportanceofgapsareself-evident.Individualstudentsaswellaspopulationsubgroupswhodolesswellinacademicsaremorelikelytobelessproductiveinsocietyand/orexperiencemorehardshipsinlifethantheircounterparts.Inanegalitariansociety,wemustdoallthatwecantoensurethatallstudentshaveequalopportunitiesandsupportstosucceed.

RegardingNewMexico,since1992thestateeducationsystemasawholehascontinuouslyperformedwellbelowthenationalaverageinmathematics,reading/languageartsandscience.Additionally,thewithin-stateracial/ethnicgapsineducationalachievementpersistwithlittletonoindicationthatsignificantprogressinclosingthesegapsisonthehorizon.

OUTLINEThispaperisdividedintothefollowingsections.1)TheAchievementGapStatus,

includingnationalandstate-leveleducationalachievementgapsanddisaggregationbyvariouspopulationsubgroups,2)TheCausesofAchievementGaps,and3)PromisingPracticesforReducingGaps.

METHODOLOGYTokeepthiswhitepapermanageableandmeaningfulforpracticalpurposes,weput

someparametersonwhatresearchshouldbeincluded:1)withlimitedexceptions,wechosetohighlightpublishedresearchthatwasconductedinNewMexico,whichincludesthemajornationalassessmentsthatincludedpopulationsamplesfromwithinthestate,2)wealsochosetofocusprimarilyonresearchconductedandpublishedwithinthelast10years,and3)wegaveprioritytoresearchthatwaspeer-reviewedand/ormetsufficientstandardsofqualitativeand/orquantitativerigor,whichincludesclarityand/orobjectivity,inclusionofthemethodologicaldescription,and,insomecases,anadequateassessmentofvalidityandreliability.

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ACHIEVEMENTGAPSTATUS

Theliteratureonachievementgapsisvast,anditiseasytofindgapswithingaps(e.g.betweenethnicgroups,withinethnicgroups;aswellasbetweengradesandgendercombinedwithsocio-economicstatus,languageproficiency,eligibilityforspecialservices,timeframes,andonandon).Thegapcombinationscanbecomesocomplicatedandintertwinedthatjustanalyzingthepossibilitiesmayresultinanalysisparalysis.Toaddressthegapsforpracticalpurposes,atthelocallevel,weneedtosimplifyandprioritizetheissuesasweknowthem,atalevelthatispracticalandmakessensetous;otherwise,weriskgettingoverwhelmedandcanendupdoingless,orevennothingatall.

Therefore,wesuggest,ingeneral,thatallstakeholders,includingpolicymakers—andespeciallyeducatorsonsiteinschools—firstusethedataandknowledgeofpatternsandtrendsthatexistsinordertosavetimeandresources.Thereisanabundanceofdescriptiveachievementgapresearchreadilyavailable,butthereisanembarrassingscarcityofhigh-qualityaction-orientedresearchonwhattodoaboutitatthestateandlocallevel.

Thefederallegislativestorypertainingtoacademicachievementgapsandinequityineducationislonganddetailed.Knowingaboutthesegeneraltrendsmayhelpustounderstandwhyfederalgovernancehastriedbutfailedtosolvetheproblem,andwhyitistheresponsibilityofallofustobepartofthesolution.Weprovideahigh-leveloverviewofthisstoryinAppendixA:LegislativeHistory.

Asthelegislativehistoryofaddressingeducationalinequityinformsus,wehaveknownabouttheissueandeffectsofinequitableeducationforalongtime.And,inallfairness,thefederalgovernmenthastakenstepstoaddresstheproblem.

OneofthechiefgoalsoftheNoChildLeftBehindActof2001(NCLB,2002),underPresidentGeorgeW.Bush,wastonarrowtheachievementgapforalldefinablesubgroups,attheschoollevel.ThisgoalcontinueswiththeEveryStudentSucceedsActof2015(ESSA,2015),signedlateintothesecondtermofPresidentBarackObama.

Still,neitherpresidentialadministrationinthiscenturywasabletomakenotableprogressinacademicperformance,basedoninternationalcomparisons,oreveninnarrowingtheracial/ethnicgapsineducationalachievementathome.Infact,between1965andtoday,largeeducationalachievementgapsamongracialgroupshavepersistedwithonlyrareindicationsofverymodestprogress(Hanushek,2016).

NATIONALANDSTATE-LEVELEDUCATIONALACHIEVEMENTGAPSAnalyzingProficiency.Throughoutthebodyofthepaper,wedelineatehowvarious

studentpopulationgroupingshaveperformedacademicallyatgivenlevelsincomparisontooneanother.Formostassessmentsofacademicachievementgaps,students'rawdataiscompiledintoaveragescalescores,meaningthattheirrawscoresaredrawnfromdifferentcategoriesorkindsofquestionsandthencompiledintoasinglescore.Collectivescorescanthenbecategorizedintoperformancelevels(akaachievementlevels)suchasBelowBasic,Basic,Proficient,andAdvanced,orequivalentcategories,asrequiredundertheNoChildLeftBehindActof2001(NCLB,2002).Performancelevelstellusabitmorethansimplerawscoreaverages(e.g.GroupAscoreshigherthanGroupBby50points),andinstead,wecan

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nowseethepercentageofstudentsinallgroupswhoscoreatapre-specifiedlevel(e.g.thepercentageofstudentswhoreachproficiency).

Below,wepresentasinglechartillustratingthemostrecentstateandnationalachievementlevelsinGrades4and8onthe2013-2015NAEPasreportedbytheU.S.DepartmentofEducation(ED)attheNationalCenterforEducationalStatistics(NCES).

Figure1.2013-2015NationalandState(NM)MathandReadingAssessmentsSnapshot.

Note.TheChartaboveshowscombinednationalandstateresultsforgrades4and8between2013and2015.Thischartshowsdiscreet(thepercentageofstudentsthatfallintoeachcategory)asopposedtocumulative(thepercentageofstudentsscoringatoraboveeachcategory)achievementlevels.(Detailsforgivenbreakoutsmaynotsumto100%becauseofrounding.)

AsshowninFigure1above,mostgrade4and8studentsnationallyandwithinNewMexico,ingeneral,didnotreachnationalProficiencyorAdvancedachievementlevelsineitherreadingormathontheNAEPassessmentsincombinedschoolyearsbetween2013and2015.NewMexicoalsoconsistentlyhadagreaternumberofstudentsnotreachingproficiencylevelsthanthenationalaverage.Althoughtheexactpercentagesmaychangeforothertimeframes,thesamepatternpersistswhereonlyaverysmallpercentageofstudentsreachAdvancedlevelswhilethelargemajorityofstudentsareclusteredattheBasicandBelowBasiclevels.

GeneralitiesBasedonNAEPresults,NewMexicoschoolchildrenhaveformorethan20years

performedlowerthanthenationalaverageinwhatareoftenconsideredthefundamental

NationG4Math

NMG4Math

NationG8Math

NMG8Math

NationG4Reading

NMG4Reading

NationG8Reading

NMG8Reading

Advanced 7 3 8 3 8 4 3 1ProIicient 32 24 24 17 27 19 29 19Basic 42 47 38 41 33 31 42 45BelowBasic 19 27 30 39 32 46 25 35

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subjectsofmathematics,reading,writing,andscience.Mathandreadingscoresarebasedscalesof0to500.Scienceandwritingscoresarebasedonscalesof0to300.AlldatainthissubsectionisderivedfromtheNCESNAEPdatabase.

StatisticalSignificance.Whenlookingatdatausedfornational,between-state,andin-statecomparisons,weurgethereadertokeepinmindtheconceptofstatisticalsignificance,atechnicaltermusedinstatistics(particularlyinhypothesistesting)thatgaugeswhetheractualresultsmaybeduetosamplingerror(orgroupequivalence,forexample).Forexample,ifthedifferencesintestresultsbetweentwogroupsarestatisticallysignificant,thenwecanhavemoreconfidencethatthecomparisonresultsarelikelyrealandmeaningful.

Whenoneexploresthepublic-accessibleNAEPDataExplorer(NDE)databasefordeeperpairwisecomparisons,suchasbetweengroupsorothervariablecombinationssuchasethnicity,gender,location,proficiency,andyears,thereportswilltypicallyidentifywhichcomparisonsarestatisticallysignificant.

Somemeasurementsmayappeartobesignificant,ornot,justbasedontheirmagnitude.Forexample,lookingatFigure2belowthereislittledoubtthatthereisapositivesignificantdifferenceinNewMexicofourthgrademathematicstestscoresbetweentwosingularpointsintime:1992and2015(18points);however,thegapsizebetweenthestateandnationalaverageatthosesametwobenchmarkshaswidenedslightly(7pointsand9points,respectively).Thegainislikelysignificant,butthegapislikelynotsignificantbecausethedifferenceisonly2points,whichcouldeasilybeduetosamplingerror.Thismeansthatsignificantgainsweremadeduringthetimeframe(asuccess),butthegapremainsstatisticallyinsignificant,andthereforenoprogresshasbeenmadeinthatregard(afailure).Becausethereareseeminglyendlesspossiblecombinations,weurgethosereaderswhowishtodelvedeepertotrytheNDEathttp://nces.ed.gov/onhisorherown.Itisreasonablyeasytouseandpotentiallyrevealing.

Figure2.NAEPGrade4Math,nationalandstate,forselectedyears.

Note.Basedonrawscoresforselectedyears,NewMexicofourthgradersasawholehavenever

caughtuptothenationalaverageinmath.

1992 1996 2000 2000 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015National 219 222 224 226 234 237 239 239 240 241 240NewMexico 213 214 213 214 223 224 228 230 233 233 231

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Figure3.NAEPGrade8Math,nationalandstate,forselectedyears.

Note.Basedonrawscoresforselectedyears,NewMexicoeighthgradersasawholehavenever

caughtuptothenationalaverageinmath.

Figure4.NAEPGrade4Reading,nationalandstate,forselectedyears.

Note.Basedonrawscoresforselectedyears,NewMexicofourthgradersstudentsasawholehave

nevercaughtuptothenationalaverageinreading,butinterestinglythestatecameclosein1992.

1992 1994 1998 1998 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015National 215 212 213 215 217 216 217 220 220 220 221 221NewMexico 211 205 205 206 208 203 207 212 208 208 206 207

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1992 1994 1998 1998 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015National 215 212 213 215 217 216 217 220 220 220 221 221NewMexico 211 205 205 206 208 203 207 212 208 208 206 207

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Figure5.NAEPGrade8Reading,nationalandstate,forselectedyears.

Note.Basedonrawscoresforselectedyears,NewMexicoeighthgradersasawholehavenever

caughtuptothenationalaverageinreading,butthestate'sparticipantscameclosein1998.

LongitudinalPatternsWhenonelookscloselyatthechartsabove,itbecomesapparentthattherewasatime

whenthegapbetweenNewMexicoandthenationalaveragewassmaller.Forexample:

• In1992,thegapbetweenNewMexicoandthenationalaverageonNAEPmathematicsforgrades4and8wassmallerthanatanytimethereafter.

• In1992forGrade4and1998forgrade8,thegapbetweenNewMexicoandthenationalaverageonNAEPreadingwassmallerthanatanytimethereafter.

ThislongitudinalpatternofwideninggapssuggeststhatNewMexicomayhavebeendoingsomethingstatewidemoreeffectivelyearlyonthaninlateryears.Similarly,researchershavenoticedthatthegapnationallybetweenminorityandwhitestudentswasmorenarrowinthe1970sand1980s,perhapsdueinpart"becauseminoritystudentswereexposedtogreaterresourcesandacademiccontent"(Harris&Herrington,2006).

1998 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015National 261 263 261 260 261 262 264 266 264NewMexico 258 254 252 251 251 254 256 256 253

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StateRankings

Table1.NAEP2015NMandNational/StateRankingsbySubjectandGrade.

GRADE4 All Boys Girls Black Hispanic White FRPLEligible FRPLNotEligible

Math 51 50 52 ‡ 31 48 43 51

Reading 52 52 52 ‡ 42 49 48 51

Science 44 44 45 15 35 38 40 39

Writing 40 41 39 ‡ 17 35 37 29

GRADE8 All Boys Girls Black Hispanic White FRPLEligible FRPLNotEligible

Math 48 47 49 ‡ 36 43 42 46

Reading 50 50 50 ‡ 44 46 47 51

Science 44 43 44 ‡ 35 39 37 44

Writing(2007) 45 44 45 ‡ 26 40 37 42

Grade12 All Boys Girls Black Hispanic White FRPLEligible FRPLNotEligible

Math(2013) ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

Reading(2013) ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡Note.‡=subgroupdidnotparticipateorreportingstandardswerenotmet.StaterankingsandcomparisonsincludetheDistrictofColumbiaandthenationalaggregate.JurisdictionsmostoftenfallingbelowNewMexicoincludeAlabama,Mississippi,and/ortheDistrictofColumbia.

2015StateRankings.Asdepictedinthe2015chartabove,withjustafewexceptions,

NewMexicoasawholefrequentlyranksnearthebottomacrossgradesandacademicsubjectswhencomparedtoall50U.S.states,theterritoryofPuertoRico(whenincluded),andtheDistrictofColumbia.Otherresultsinclude:• GenderdisaggregationshowsthatNewMexicoboysandgirlsperformaboutthesame

innationalrankings;• Ethnicitydisaggregationshowsthatthereareafewbrightspotswhenvariousethnic

groupsarecomparednationallywiththeirpeersontheNAEPassessmentsforscienceandwriting.NewMexicoblackstudentsdidfairlywellinGrade4science,ranking15thwhencomparedwiththeirnationalpeers.NewMexicoHispanicsinGrades4and8writingalsoshowedbrightspots,ranking17thand26th,respectively.

• FreeorReduced-PricedLunch(FRPL)disaggregationindicatesstudentswhoareeligibleforfreeorreducedpricelunch(FRPL)undertheNationalSchoolLunchProgram(thatsomeconsideranindicationoffamilysocio-economicstatus).FRPL-eligiblestudentsseemtoperformmodestlybetterinNewMexicothandonon-FRPL-eligiblestudentswhencomparedtotheirrespectivepeergroups.

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OtherLongitudinalPatternsOtherlongitudinalpatternsworthnotinginclude:

Ethnicity.Whenstudentgroupsaredisaggregatednationally,weconsistentlyseethefollowinggroupsscoringasfollowsindescendingorder:Asian,White,African-American,Hispanic,andNativeAmerican.

SpecialServices.Thesamepattern,butwithlargerpercentagesatlowerlevels,typicallyrepeatsitselfwhenmanystudentgroupsaredisaggregatedbyethnicityandspecialservicessuchasStudentswithDisabilities(SWD),studentswith504plans,andEnglish-LanguageLearners(ELLs),orsimplyEnglishLearners(ELs).

Gender.Girlsasagroupconsistentlyperformathigherlevelsthanboysonreading,andboysconsistentlyperformbetterinmathematics.Noteveryyear,however,isthedifferencestatisticallysignificant.

Whilethispaperisnottheplacetodebatetheadequacyoragreeabilityofvariousethnicityandspecialservicesdescriptors,wetypicallyusethepopulationsubgrouptermsastheyappearinthefederalandstatelegislationand/orastheyarereferencedinthepertinentdocumentsource.Therefore,forexample,wemayseethetermHispanicinsomechartsandLatinoinothers.

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NativeAmericanNational/StateComparisonsNativeAmericanstudents'trendsandpatternsdonotnecessarilymatchwellwithother

statecomparisonsbecausemanystatesarenotasfortunateasNewMexicotohavealargeNativeAmericanpopulation.Thestate,therefore,isincludedintheNationalIndianEducationStudy(NIES,2016)thatseekstocomparetheNAEPmathandreadingresultsforvariousNativeAmericanpopulationsacrossthenationandwiththenationalaverageasawhole,asdepictedinthechartsbelow.

Figure6.Grade4Mathematics.

Figure7.Grade8Mathematics.

Figure8.Grade4Reading.

Figure9.Grade8Reading.

Note.NM=NewMexico.AI/AN=AmericanIndian/AlaskaNative.AI/ANsubgroupsincludedata

frombothpublicandBIEschools.ThefiguresaboveshowaconsistenttrendinaveragescalescoresacrossfourthandeighthgradesforbothNAEPmathematicsandreading.NewMexicoAmericanIndianstudentsperformbelowthenationalAmericanIndianaveragewhichitselfiswellbelowthenationalaverageforallstudents.

2005 2007 2009 2011National 238 240 240 241NationalAI/AN 226 228 225 226

NMAI/AN 215 217 214 218

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2005 2007 2009 2011National 279 281 283 284NationalAI/AN 264 264 266 265

NMAI/AN 251 250 252 256

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2005 2007 2009 2011National 219 221 221 221NationalAI/AN 203 204 204 202

NMAI/AN 186 193 188 190

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2005 2007 2009 2011National 262 263 264 265

NationalAI/AN 249 247 251 252

NMAI/AN 236 233 236 240

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WITHIN-STATEEDUCATIONALACHIEVEMENTGAPSFormostrecentandpastdataanalyses,andcompliancewithfederallegislation,New

Mexicohasformostassessmentsusedfourachievementlevels:BeginningStep,NearingProficiency,Proficient,andAdvanced.Forstandardizationandcomparisonwithmostnationalassessments,someanalysts,suchasCenteronEducationPolicy(CEP),findequivalencewithNewMexico'sBeginningStepasBelowBasic,NearingProficiencyasBasic,andProficientandAdvancedasthesame.

TheNAEP,therefore,islikelythebestsystemavailabletogaugehowagivenstateisdoingincomparisontootherstatesandthenation.Thatisbecausestate-specifictestsarenotparallelwiththeNAEPandthereforethepercentagesofstudentsreachingproficiency,forexample,wouldbeveryunlikelytobethesame.

TheeducationalachievementgapswithinNewMexico,however,arefundamentallythesameasthenation,andlikethenation,theeducationalsysteminNewMexicohasbeenchronicallyunabletosignificantlyclosetheachievementgapsamongpopulationsubgroups.

Within-stateEthnicity.Whendisaggregatedbyethnicpopulationsubgroups,NewMexicostudentsfollowthesamepatternaswiththenationalassessments.

Within-stateSpecialServices.Whenstudentgroupsaredisaggregatedbyspecialservices,wealsoseethesesubgroupsachievingatlowerlevelswhencomparedtoothergroupsbothnationallyandwithinthestate.

JusttheFactsInthissectionwehighlightalimitednumberofdatapointsthatillustratetheoverall

essenceoftheachievementgapstatusinNewMexicoatvariouspointsintime.Keepinmindthatnotallminordifferencesintestresultsmaybestatisticallysignificant.

Almostallofthedataprovidedbelowcomesfromtwovaluableresources:Thestateeducationagency,thatistheNewMexicoPublicEducationDepartment(NMPED/PED),inparticularthePEDAssessment&AccountabilityDivision(PED-AAD)andtheCEP(seeforexample,CEP2009a,2009b).

ThePED-AADprovidesathoroughandeasilyaccessibledisaggregationoffederallyrequiredstatewide,district,andschooltestresults(NMPED,2016a).SchoolsandotherstakeholderscanreadilyaccessthesedataonthePED'swebsite;however,therehavebeensomelongdelaysinprocessingandreleasingsometestresultsoverthelastcoupleofyears.

CEPisanational,independentorganizationandan"advocateforpubliceducationandformoreeffectivepublicschools."CEPhasdeconstructedmanystateandnationalassessments,includedforNewMexico,inordertoprovidethepublicineachstatewithaclearerpictureofthestatusandtrendsoftheireducationalperformanceandachievement.CEPfrequentlyanalyzesresultsfromstatewideassessmentstoexploremorecomplexdisaggregationofmulti-yearresultsaccordingtovariouspopulationsubgroupsthatincludeethnicity,socio-economicstatus,genderandspecialservices(includingEnglish-languageproficiency,studentswithdisabilities,and/or504status).

Inthepast,NewMexicoassessmentsusedforNCLBaccountabilityincludedtheNewMexicoStandardsBasedAssessment(SBA)andtheNewMexicoAlternatePerformanceAssessment(NMAPA).Previousto2005,NewMexicoadministeredvariousversionsoftheTerraNova/CTBS(ComprehensiveTestofBasicSkills)fromCTB/McGraw-Hill,whichhassincebeenrefinedandisnowownedbyDataRecognitionCorporation(DRC).Beginningin

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2015,thestatebeganusingthePartnershipforAssessmentofReadinessforCollegeandCareers(PARCC)TestthatisownedbyPearson,alargeeducationalproductscorporation.

TrendsandComparisons.WiththeintroductionofthePARCC,whichusesafive-level(Level1-Level5)systemofreporting,findingequivalencewithfour-levelassessmentresults,suchastheperformancelevelsatNAEP,maybeevenmoreconfusing,non-equivalent,orambiguous.ThisiscompoundedbythefactthatNewMexicohaschangeditsassessmentsratherfrequently.Forexample,PED-AAD(NMPED,2016a)releaseditsresultsofSEArequiredassessmentswiththisnotice:

In2015newassessmentswereaddedthatprecludereportingbylevelorbyscaledscore.TheseproficienciesincludeSBASpanishReading,SBAScience,NCSCELA&MATH,NMAPAScience,PARCCELA&MATH,DIBELSReading.

WedonotwishtogivetheimpressionthatduetofrequentassessmentchangesitistoocomplicatedorperhapslessmeaningfultoanalyzeNewMexicoassessmenttrendsandcomparisons.Wesimplyhavetoremainawareofthepatternsthatcomewithchangeandkeeptheseinmindwheninvestigatingtrends.Forexample,NewMexicoproficiencylevelsmayclearlyappeartobemuchhigherin2014,beforethePARCC,thanin2015and2016.Andproficiencylevelsin2016appeartoshowslightgainsfrom2015,indicatingaslightupwardtrajectory,forthePARCCatleast,overthelastyear.

VariousdisaggregatedresultsforNewMexicooverthepastfewyearsarepresentedbelow.

GenderReading.ThesamepatterndescribednationallygenerallyholdstrueforNewMexico;

however,thestatewidegendergapappearstobesmaller.

Figure10.NewMexicoReadingProficiencybyYearandGender.

Note.NewMexicogirlsconsistentlyperformmodestlybetterthanboysinallgradescombinedin

reading.Source:NMPED.

2014 2015 2016AllStudents 49 33.3 37Female 54 37.9 42Male 44.1 28.9 32.2

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Figure11.NewMexicoMathematicsProficiencybyYearandGender.

Note.NewMexicoboysandgirlsconsistentlyperforminallgradescombinedthesameinmath.

Thereisnosignificantdifference.Source:NMPED.

Figure12.NewMexicoScienceProficiencybyYearandGender.

Note.NewMexicoboysconsistentlyperforminallgradescombinedslightlyhigherthangirlsin

science.Source:NMPED.

2014 2015 2016AllStudents 40.7 17.6 20.2Female 40.8 17.6 20.4Male 40.7 17.5 20

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2014 2015 2016AllStudents 44 39.8 42.5Female 42.4 38.4 40.8Male 45.6 41.1 44.2

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Figure13.NewMexicoReadingProficiencybyYearandEthnicity.

Note.Whendisaggregatedbyethnicity,AmericanIndiansandHispanicsperforminallgrades

combinedthelowestinreadingproficiency.Source:NMPED.

Figure14.NewMexicoMathematicsProficiencybyYearandEthnicity.

Note.Whendisaggregatedbyethnicity,AmericanIndiansandHispanicsperforminallgrades

combinedthelowestinmathematicsproficiency.Source:NMPED.

2014 2015 2016AllStudents 49 33.3 37AfricanAmerican 47.5 30.9 34.6AmericanIndian 32 22.4 27.4Asian 70.8 57.8 60.9Caucasian 65.3 47.6 50.7Hispanic 44.5 28.9 32.7

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_2014 _2015 _2016AllStudents 40.7 17.6 20.2AfricanAmerican 34.1 13.8 15AmericanIndian 26.7 9.01 10.9Asian 69.2 45.5 48.2Caucasian 57.3 29.8 33.3Hispanic 35.8 13.6 16.2

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Figure15.NewMexicoScienceProficiencybyYearandEthnicity.

Note.Whendisaggregatedbyethnicity,AmericanIndiansandHispanicsperforminallgrades

combinedthelowestinscienceproficiency.Source:NMPED.

DisaggregationbySpecialServicesFigure16.NewMexicoReadingProficiencybyYearandSpecialServices.

Note.Whendisaggregatedbyspecialservices,EnglishLearnersandStudentsWithDisabilities

performinallgradescombinedthelowestinreadingproficiency.Source:NMPED.

2014 2015 2016AllStudents 44 39.8 42.5AfricanAmerican 40.7 36.9 38.3AmericanIndian 25.1 20.6 22.1Asian 66.2 65.1 64.8Caucasian 65.3 61 64.4Hispanic 37.8 33.7 36.8

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2014 2015 2016AllStudents 49 33.3 37EconomicallyDisadvantaged 41.1 26.9 31

EnglishLanguageLearners 19.3 7.11 20.1

StudentswDisabilities 16.4 13.1 12.4

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Figure17.NewMexicoMathematicsProficiencybyYearandSpecialServices.

Note.Whendisaggregatedbyspecialservices,EnglishLearnersandStudentsWithDisabilities

performinallgradescombinedthelowestinmathematicsproficiency.Source:NMPED.

Figure18.NewMexicoScienceProficiencybyYearandSpecialServices.

Note.Whendisaggregatedbyspecialservices,EnglishLearnersandStudentsWithDisabilities

performinallgradescombinedthelowestinscienceproficiency.Source:NMPED.

2014 2015 2016AllStudents 40.7 17.6 20.2EconomicallyDisadvantaged 33.1 12.3 14.9

EnglishLanguageLearners 17.2 5.32 6.8

StudentswDisabilities 13.5 6.4 6.9

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2014 2015 2016AllStudents 44 39.8 42.5EconomicallyDisadvantaged 34.8 31.1 34.1

EnglishLanguageLearners 15.2 10.2 10.9StudentswDisabilities 19.2 15 16.5

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ACHIEVEMENTGAPCAUSESWewishtooperationalizeourunderstandingofthetermcause.Mostofwhatisoften

referredtoasthecauseofanachievementgapisnotacauseatall;rather,itismostoftenanassociationorcorrelationofdescriptivevariablesormultivariateconstructsorfactors.Forexample,anethnicidentityisnotacauseofanachievementgapanymorethanisachild'shomelanguageorsocio-economicstatus(TeachforAmerica,2011a,2011b).Weknow,however,thatchildrenassociatedwiththesedescriptorsmayexperiencegreaterchallenges,butwealsoknowthatitisthechallengespresentedbythesituationthataretrulythecause.Forexample,non-EnglishproficientchildrenmayperformloweronEnglish-basedassessments,andthecausesmaybebecausetheyarenotadequatelypreparedtotaketheassessment,orbecausetheassessmentisnotintheirhomelanguage.Thecausesmaybemany,butthechildrenthemselvesarenotthecause.

SEGREGATION,DESEGREGATION,ANDINTEGRATIONWhilethe700-pluspagesoftheColemanReportwaspackedwithdetailedchartsand

datatablesandlaunchedanavalancheofspeculationastowhyblackstudentsconsistentlyscoredlowerthanwhitestudents,therehastodatebeennoconsensusonwhytheethnicgroupgapspersist.Formany,thereportgavesubstancetothewidespreadbeliefthatsegregationbetweentheschools,andthusinequitiesinthequalityofeducation,wastheprimaryreason,therebyinfluencingthenationalconversationandthenation'shighestcourtsastothevalueofdesegregation.

Tosaythatdesegregationhasnothelpedtoclosethegaps,however,istoeitherignoretheearlysuccessesithad,particularlybeforethe1990s(Harris&Herrington,2006)ortoassumethatitwasfullyimplementedonasufficientscale.Forexample,scholarsfromTheCenturyFoundation(Potter,Quick,&Davies,2006)saythis:

...morethansixtyyearsafterBrownv.BoardofEducation,Americanpublicschoolsarestillhighlysegregatedbybothraceandclass.Infact,bymostmeasuresofintegration,ourpublicschoolsareworseoff,sincetheyarenowevenmoreraciallysegregatedthantheywereinthe1970s,andeconomicsegregationinschoolshasrisendramaticallyoverthepasttwodecades.

UNITSOFANALYSISAccordingtotheNationalInstitutesofHealth,HumanGenomeResearchInstitute"All

humanbeingsare99.9percentidenticalintheirgeneticmakeup"(NIH,2016).Thatshouldputtorestanyspeculationthatraceandethnicitycontributetothecauseofstudentsubgroupdifferencesinacademicachievement.

Thereisalsonoshortageoflogicaldebateandspeculationaboutotherpossiblerootcausesofeducationalachievementgapsbetweenandwithindisaggregatedsubgroups.Theseincludeanunlimitedmultivariatearrayofpersonal,socio-cultural,economic,environmental,political,structuralandsystemicinfluences.And,justabouteverythingthathappensinthelivesofchildren,bothinandoutofschool—includingdemographics,schoolprocesses,perceptions,andstudentlearning(Bernhardt,1998)—contributetohowwelltheydoacademically.

Asanexampleofamultivariatearray,wecansaythatachildisinfluencedbythevariousculturesofherstate,followedbythecultureorculturesofhercommunity,herneighborhood,herschool,herfamilyandfriends,andheruniqueexperiences.Wecantake

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thissofarthatonceagainweriskenteringastateofanalysisparalysis,oratleastapointofdiminishingreturns.

Thisisnottosaythatweshouldeverletuponhowweprovideindividualattentiontoindividualchildren;rather,ifwewishtoeverresolveinequitiesatthegrouplevel,wemayneedtoconsidergroup-levelorevensystemicinterventions.

Thebigcausesaresystems-oriented.Therefore,wesuggestthatprimarycausesofunequalacademicachievementwouldbethoseelementscomingfromtheschoolandsocialsystemsthemselvesthataffectthemoststudentswithineachoftheirsubgroups.Othercausesandreasonsmayalsobevalidandimpactfulaswell,butthebulkofoureffortsshouldbeplacedwherewehavethebestchancesofmakingamajordifference,oratleastasignificantdifference,atthecollectivelevel.Forthattohappen,wehavetoacceptasatruismthatthesystemisatfault,notthechildorhercommunity.

TheAmericanFederationofTeachers(AFT,2004)lookedatalonglistofspecificchallengesfacingHispanic/Latinostudents.Mostofthoseitemsonthelistprobablypertaintoalllower-performingstudents,andinclude,forexample,thefollowing:

• Disproportionateattendanceatresource-poorschools;• Lackofaccesstofullyqualifiedteachers;• Lackofparticipationinrigorous,college-preparatorycoursework;and,• Parentswithlow-householdincomesandlowlevelsofformaleducation.

RelatedtoEthnicityRegardingstudentcharacteristics,RenéeDelgado-Riley(2014),athenPh.D.candidate

oftheUniversityofNewMexico(UNM)addressedtheissueofthemathematicsachievementgapamongthirdandfifthgradeWhiteandHispanicstudentsinalargeurbanschooldistrict.Delgadosoughttoaddressthegaptrendsovertimeandtoexplorewhethercontrollingforstudentfactorsotherthanethnicity(e.g.gender,free-and-reduced-pricedlunch,andEnglishproficiency)couldatleastpartiallyexplaindisparateachievementresults.Evenwhencontrollingfortheseothervariables,shefoundthatasignificantmathematicsachievementgapbetweenHispanicandwhitestudentsremainedoverall,butalsothatHispanicstudentshadaslowergrowthrateingrades3to5,withthatgapwideningandthereforesuggestingthattheschoolsunderstudywerenotontracktoclosethegapwiththeirwhitestudentpeers.

Hispanics.TheacademicachievementgapsbetweenHispanic/Latinostudents,Asian,black,andwhitestudentsisawell-knownconundrumthathaskeptplentyofresearchersbusyformanydecades.Itwouldalmostbeeasiertomakeaninventoryofwhathistoricallyhasnotworkedtoclosethegapthanwhathasbeensuccessful.

ThetermHispanicsitselfisanumbrellatermformanydiversepopulations,oftencomingfrommanydistinctcultures,nationalities,andexperiences.WithinNewMexico,mostHispanicsaremestizos,adiverseblendofEuropean,African,andAmericanindigenousancestries.SomeHispanicfamiliesinNewMexicoarrivedasrecentlyasthecurrentgenerationandmostothersasfarback,ontheirEuropeanside,toearlycolonialsettlersmorethan400yearsago.And,ofcourse,theirHispanic/Indigenousgeneticadmixturecanrangefromhundredstothousandsofyearstoasrecentascurrentgenerations.

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Thefactis,ethnicityisnotacauseoflowacademicperformance;plentyofHispanics

nationwideachieveatgreaterlevels.Asageneralpopulationgroup,however,thereasonsforthegaparelikelysocial,stemmingfromhistoricalclasheswithotherpeoplesthathasleftthepopulationwithlesslandandresources;lesslong-termeconomicstabilityandsecurity;lessequityineducation;and,lesssupportiveattentionand/orcompensationforhistoricaldiscrimination,inrealterms(liketargetedappropriationsforeconomicrecoveryandsocialinvestments),fromthestateandfederalsystemsasawhole.

RubénG.Rumbaut(2006),writingfortheNationalResearchCouncil(US)PanelonHispanicsintheUnitedStates,sponsoredbytheNationalInstitutesofHealth,summarizesmanyofthepointsmadeaboveandbelowbystating"thecontinuationofpresenttrendsportendswideningsocialandeconomicinequalitiesintheHispanicpopulation,segmentedbynationaloriginandgeneration."

NativeAmericans.TheacademicachievementgapsbetweenNativeAmericanstudentsandotherstudentsofstandardizedethnicgroupdescriptionsatthestateandfederallevelsareoftenlargeandperenniallypersistent.

Demmert,Grissmer,andTowner(2006),publishedintheJournalofAmericanIndianEducation,triedtomakesenseoftheNativeAmericanlowacademicachievement.Theydidsecondaryanalysesonnationaldatasets,includingtheEarlyChildhoodLongitudinalStudyofKindergartenStudents(ECLS-K)andfoundthefollowing:

• NativeAmericanchildrenenteringkindergartenperformedabout27percentilepointsbehindwhites,12pointsbehindblackstudents,and10pointsbehindHispanicsinreading;

• NativeAmericankindergartenchildrenperformedabout27percentilepointsbehindwhites,eightpointsbehindblackstudents,andtwopointsbehindHispanicsinmath;

ThetakeawayfromthispartoftheirstudyisthatNativeAmericanchildrendonotenterformalschoolingatequitablelevels.Theauthorsalsofound,includingreflectingonseveralyearsofresearch,thatotherthantestresults,theresearchontheacademicachievementofNativeAmericansisfrequentlybelowstandardandthereforedoesnotyieldagreatdealofusefulinformation.

Commonalities.AmajorfocusofthispaperisontheacademicachievementgapfacingHispanicandNativeAmericanstudents.Althoughresearchersofteninvestigatetheissueforeitheroneofthesepopulationsinisolation,therearecommonalitiesinboththeirethnicadmixtures(manyNativeAmericansinNewMexicoarepartHispanic,andviceversa)aswellastheunderlyingsocial,political,andeconomiccausalfactorsforlowstudentachievement.AccordingtoDemmertetal.(2006):

...thereareacommonsetofcharacteristicsthatcanaccountforlowachievementacrossbothmajorityandminoritygroups.However,minoritygroupshaveahigherincidenceofsuchcharacteristicsandthuslowerscoresthanthemajoritygroup.

Inotherwords,individuallow-achievingstudents,regardlessofethnicgroup,mayhavehigherratesofpovertyandthereforemaybemorelikelytobeadverselyaffectedbyagreaternumberpersonalandsocialriskfactors.Becausecertaingroupsasawhole,suchasHispanicsandNativeAmericans,aremorelikelytoexperiencehigherratespoverty,theirgroupsaremorelikelytoperformacademicallyatlowerlevels.

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Additionally,classstatusishighlyinfluencedbyacademicachievement(Harris&Herrington,2006),solower-qualityschoolingandsocialclassareinfactreciprocal.

Socio-EconomicStatusThereisadefinitegapinaveragetestscoresbetweenstudentsfromrichandpoor

backgrounds.AsPotter,QuickandDavies(2016)putit:Today,thegapinaveragetestscoresbetweenrichandpoorstudents(thoseintheninetiethandtenthpercentilesbyincome,respectively)isnearlytwicethesizeofthegapbetweenwhiteandblackstudents.

Quinn(2014,2015),forexample,conductedmultivariateregressionanalysesondatafromtheEarlyChildhoodLongitudinalStudy,Kindergarten(ECLS-K).Thatanalysesfoundthatwhilesocio-economicstatus(SES)explainsmuchofthegapinmathandreadingbetweenblackandwhitechildrenastheyenterkindergarten,itdoesnotexplainwhytheachievementgapinthosesubjectscontinuestowidenovertheschoolyear.QuinnalsousedanECLS-Kassessmentofexecutivefunctioning(workingmemory)includedintheECLS-Kdatabutfoundthatthegapinexecutivefunctioningdidnotwidenovertheschoolyear,suggestingthattheachievementgapswidenedduetocontentandnottostudentcapabilitiesorreadiness.

ThereobviouslyisacommonpatternoccurringbetweenSESandacademicperformance,andmanyscholarsaretakingnote.Forexample,ArizonaStateUniversityprofessor,DavidC.Berliner(2013)conductedananalysisofextantdatafromtheProgramforInternationalStudentAssessment(PISA)andtheinternationalTrendsinMathematicsandScienceStudy(TIMSS)reports.Hefoundthattestperformancewasstronglycorrelatedwithinequalityofincome:thehigherthefamilyincome,thehigherthestudents'testscores.Hesuggeststhatlookingatresolvingincomeinequalitythroughimprovementinnationaleconomicpoliciesmaybethemostproductiveopportunitywehaveforreducingtheacademicachievementgap.StanfordUniversityprofessor,SeanF.Reardon(2013)reportsfindingsimilarpatternsfromNAEPsecondarydataanalysisandincludesanalysesthatsuggesttheSESgapisduenotjusttoincomebutperhapsduemoretoearlychildhoodlearningopportunities.

Whatisperhapsenlightening,however,isasHarrisandHerrington(2006)suggest,that"(t)hegapinachievementhasshiftedsteadilyfrombeinganindicatorofeducationalinequalitytobeingadirectcauseofsocioeconomicinequality."Theynotethatprevioustothe1990s,theachievementgapwassmaller:

Theriseofaccountabilitypoliciesduringtheearly1990scoincidedwithanincreaseintheachievementgapbetweenwhiteandminoritystudents,reversingdecadesofsteadyimprovementinoutcomeequity.

Isitjustacoincidencethattheachievementgapincreasedasaresultofaccountabilitypolicies?HarrisandHerringtonconductedanextensivereviewofpolicyreformsoverthelast50years,includingcontentandtimestandards(moreresourcesandinstructionaltime),government-basedaccountability(e.g.rewardsandpunishments),andmarket-basedaccountability(e.g.chartersandvouchers).Beginninginthe1950s,duetodesegregation,theESEA,andthemajoreducationalstatusreport,ANationatRisk(NationalCommissiononExcellenceinEducation,1983),minoritystudentsgainedmoreaccesstoresources,content,andrigorouscurriculathatpreviouslywereavailableonlytowhitestudents.Withtheshifttomoreaccountabilityofthe1990s,amajorfocusoftheeducationsystemshiftedawayfromstudents'learningandmoreontotheschoolandteachers'performanceasameasureofaccountability(HarrisandHerrington,2006).

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Manyarereferringtoinequitableopportunitiesastheopportunitygap(e.g.Carter,Welner,&Ladson-Billings,2013).Studentswholackcriticalresources,supportsandtheopportunitiestheseprovide,bothin-schoolandout-of-school,sufferfromalackofopportunitieswhichisconsideredbysomeastheprimarycauseofachievementgaps.Mitigatingtheissuefromthisstandpointalonewouldrequireaseismicshiftinthegeneralthinkingofsocietyandpolicymakers,resultinginahighlyenlightenedandhumanitarianeconomicandsocialreversaloftrends.Itwouldbeanadmirablegoal,buteducatorscannotwaitforsocietalchangestohappenatthatlevel.However,therearethingsthatlocalitiescandoontheirown,whichisforallsectorsofsocietytobecomesupportiveandinvolvedinschooling.AgoodexampleofthisistheHarlemChildren'sZoneprojectwhichisfurtherdetailedinthePromisingPracticessectionthatfollows.

LanguageBarriersEnglishLearners.StudentswhoarelearningEnglishinadditiontotheirnative

language(s)areconvenientlylabeledasEnglishLanguageLearners(ELLs)orsimplyEnglishLearners(ELs)inAmericaneducationalsystemnomenclature.AccordingtoED,ELsmakeupalmost10percentofthestudentpopulationnationwide(NCES,2016).

Manyofthesestudents,asmanyasoneinfour,uptoagesix,intheU.S.,comefromfamilieswhereatleastoneparentisanimmigrantwhodoesnotspeakEnglish(Herbert,2012).ManyalsosimplycomefromareaswithintheU.S.,especiallyinadiversestatelikeNewMexico,wheretheirpopulationshaveperseveredforhundredsofyearsandwhosecommunitieshavebeenintentonpreservingtheirculturalheritageandethniclanguageordialect,butwhoalsoremainenthusiasticabouttheirchildrenlearningasecondlanguage.

Thecausesofachievementgapsamongvaryinglanguagegroupsexistwhenthestudentsandtheschoolsystemexistonseparateplanes,onespeakingLanguageAandtheotherLanguageB.Delgado(2014)andReardonandGalindo(2009),forexample,foundthatevenwhencontrollingforSES,thereremainsclearassociationsbetweenlanguageproficiencyandacademicperformance.

TheShortListThereseemstobeanendlesslistofwhatcausesachievementgapsingeneral.However,

ifwearetoacceptthefactthatsocialcharacteristics,likeraceandSESarenotthecause,butarestronglycorrelated,thenthatleadstoanunderstandingthatracismandclassbiases(bothsystematicandongoingpersonalandinstitutionalizedbiases)arethebigunderlyingfactors(Weissglass,2001).Thesefactorsthusgivewaytomorespecificcauses,suchasthefollowinginequities:schoolquality,schoolresources,families'socialandculturalcapital,economics,generationalacademicattainment,teacherexpectations,academicstandardsinschools,andlevelsofcommunityinfrastructure(Miksic,2014).Racismandclassbias,evenifdistributedandimplementedunwittingly,aretwobigfactorsthatareabletounleashanynumberofresidualcausesofpersistentgaps.

THECAUSESOFACHIEVEMENTGAPSWITHINNEWMEXICOWedonotknowofanymajorresearchstudyorevenacredibleopinionpaperthat

statesthatthereisnoacademicachievementgapwithinNewMexicooranyotherstate.Atthesametime,thereisapaucityofhigh-qualityempiricalachievement-gapresearch

conductedinNewMexicothatcandefinitivelystatethatourachievementgapsareduetooneparticularreasonoranother.Forexample,thereisanunderstandabletendencytoattributelowachievementtoschoolfundingandteachershortages,butwhenconsideredin

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isolation,NewMexicospentmorein2013perpupil($9,012)andhadlowerteacher-to-pupilratiosthanthehigher-achievingneighboringstatesofArizona,Colorado,Oklahoma,Texas,andUtah(U.S.CensusBureau,2015;Ballotpedia,2016).Thesedataarenotpresentedtosaythatschoolscannotmakegooduseofmorefunds,theycan,buttomakenoteofthefactthatsystemicfactorsarealsomultivariateandnosmallcombinationoffactorsaretheentiretyoftheproblem.Howmoneyisspentisperhapsmoreimportantthattheamountitself.

Totrytonarrowdownthecausesofachievementgapsforpracticalpurposes,scientificandnon-scientificresearchconductedwithinthestateofNewMexico,suchastheNAEP,suggeststhatthesamecausesthataffectthenationasawholemayaccountformuchofwhythestateeducationsystemisexperiencinginequitableresultsinacademicachievement.

Theneedforfurtherresearch.Forthissubsection,wewishtoemphasizethatthereappearstobealotofgoodresearchavailableonacademicachievementstrategiesandprogramsinNewMexico,anditwouldtakeyearstosumupandsynthesizeitall.However,wewishtoemphasizethepointagain,thatimprovingachievementandreducingacademicachievementgapsarenotthesame.

Atthesametime,thereisapaucityofhigh-qualityresearchthatspecificallyaddressestheissueofclosingtheNewMexicoeducationalachievementgap.Forexample,

• ASofNovember2016,therewere3,494citationsintheERICdigitallibrarythathavesomethingtosayabout"NewMexico"(inquotes).Thesearemostlydescriptiveandresearchreportsandabout20percentarejournalarticles.Mostothersareevents-relatedhandouts,evaluationreports,basicdata,andopinionpapers.

• Whenpairedwith"achievementgap"(inquotes),NewMexico'sERICentriesinthedatabasedwindlesto31.Ofthose,only12arepeer-reviewed.Allofthose,exceptforone,allarereportsbythefederalgovernment,specificallyNCES.

• TheloneNewMexicoentrysubmittedtoERICisanarticlepublishedintheJournalofSchoolCounselingbyDavidOlguinandJeanmarieKeim(2009)thatiselaboratedbelow.

WithinNewMexico,theissuesregardingachievementgapsaremostlythesameasthenationalscene,buttheeducationsystem,fromtoptobottom,appearstohavegivenupthegoodfightforclosingtheachievementgaps.Nodoubt,thatisbecauselayingoutacoherentandpracticalprocessdesignedspecificallytocloseidentifiedgapsistougherthanthewell-intentionedstrategyofstimulatingachievementforallstudents,whichitselfappearstosimplysustainthestatusquoanddonothingaboutexistinginequities.

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PROMISINGPRACTICESFORREDUCINGGAPSInthissection,weusethetermpromisingpracticesbecauseatermlike"bestpractices"

assumeswehavecarriedoutarobustcomparisonstudyofthemanypracticesbeingpromotedfromendlessagencies,organizations,institutions,andschools.

SiftingforRigorousResearch.Oneoftheeasierwaystonarrowdownone'sexplorationformorerigorousresearchineducation,forexample,onthebenefitsofbilingualeducation,mightbetostartwithakeywordsearchonaScience.gov,aninteragencyinitiativeof19U.S.governmentscienceorganizationswithin15FederalAgencies(includingtheUSDepartmentsofEducation,HealthandHumanServices,andtheNationalScienceFoundation.Science.gov,orciencia.science.govinSpanish,alsoprovidesasearchofover60scientificdatabasesand200millionpagesofscienceinformationwithjustonequery,andisagatewaytoover2200scientificWebsites.

However,weaskthereadertokeepinmindthatwearecertainlyawarethatthereareseeminglyendlessresearchandopinionpapersontheoriesandstrategiesforinstructionalmethodstoraiseacademicachievement.Manyoftheseideasarepromisingforallstudentsand,inmanycases,specificpopulationsubgroups,andweencouragealleducatorstodigdeeponwhattheyneedfortheirspecificcontexts,includingbygrades,subjects,populationsubgroups,andtheindividualcharacteristicsofthestudentstheyserve.

And,thequestforrigorousresearchdoesnotdiminishthevalue,brilliance,orinsightgainedfromthemanyopinionpapersandanalyticaloralternativenarrativesthatalsocoverthesetopics.Butinmanycaseswearestillawaitingmorerigorousqualitativeand/orquantitativeresearchtofurthersubstantiatetheseideassothatschoolswillhavetheconfidenceonwherebesttoplacetheirbetsforimprovingeducationandforsimultaneouslynarrowingtheirachievementgaps.

Inthismodestwhitepaper,weseektosiftthroughtheplethoraandhighlightsomebriefresultsfromoutsidethestatebecausetheyareinterestingandpotentiallypracticaltoNewMexicoeducatorsandpolicymakers,andalsobecausetheyhelptoestablishsomefundamentalprincipalsaboutunderstandingandinterpretingacademicachievementgapresearch.Wewillthenwelookatsomewithin-stateresearch,specificallyonachievementgapsfacingLatinoandNativeAmericanstudents,fromwhichtheplethorafadestoapaucity.

Theresearchbaseshrinksconsiderablybecauseraisingacademicachievementandnarrowinggapsarenotsynonymous.Ifwecouldputallofthegoodideasforclosingachievementgapsingeneralintoafishbowl,wewouldneedagiantsizefishbowl.Fewwouldargueagainstmostoftheideaswewouldfindinthere,andmanywouldargueagainsteventhinkingaboutremovingsomeofthepracticesandstrategiescurrentlyinexistence.Buteventhoughgoodideasandgoodstrategiesmayhelptoraiseachievement,inthemselves,theyrarelycloseornarrowachievementgaps.

Mostoftheachievementgapresearchisoverwhelminglydescriptiveinnature,usuallydisplayinggraphsthatillustrateproficiencylevelsforvarioussubgroupsfollowedbysomeguidanceandgoodideasforraisingachievementofthelower-performinggroups.Veryfew,however,areprescriptiveandcansaydefinitively—withlong-term,triedandtrue,replicableempiricalproof—thatifwedoA(ashortlistofstrategies),thenB(aclearclosingornarrowingofthegaps)willhappen.

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FINDINGANDSIFTINGTHROUGHPROMISINGPRACTICESAsthenationaleducationsystemwaseagertoknowmoreaboutstatusofinequityin

education,andthecausesoftheachievementgaps,thereisalsolegislationdesignedtohelpussortthroughtheprocessoffindingsolutions.

EmergingjustafterNCLBbecamelaw,theEducationSciencesReformActof2002(ESRA,2002)wentintoeffect.ThepurposeofESRAwastocreatetheInstituteofEducationSciences(IES),apresumablyindependentandnon-partisanstatistics,research,andevaluationwingatED.ESRAalsoincludedprovisionsfortheInstituteofEducationSciencesatNCESandNAEP(fromwherewegetmostofournationalachievementgapstatisticsforthispaper),thecontinuationoftheEducationResourcesInformationCenter(ERIC),andtheWhatWorksClearinghouse(WWC).Thepurposeoftheactwastoprovidescientificevidencetoinformeducationalresearch,policy,andpractice.

ERICisthemajorresourceforidentifyingresearchforthiswhitepaperfortworeasons:1)itisanonlinedigitallibraryofabout1.5millioneducationalresearchpublications,manywithfulltextandimmediately-availablepublicaccess,2)muchandpossiblyallofwhatisfundamentallyimportantaboutbestpracticesinclosingachievementgapscanbefoundatERICatnocost.

ERICisdescribedbyWikipedia(2016)asfollows:ThemissionofERICistoprovideacomprehensive,easy-to-use,searchable,Internet-basedbibliographicandfull-textdatabaseofeducationresearchandinformationforeducators,researchers,andthegeneralpublic.Educationresearchandinformationareessentialtoimprovingteaching,learning,andeducationaldecision-making.

TheWWCquicklybecameamajoreducationalresearchreviewinitiativetoassessthequalityofeducationalresearchinvariouscontentareas.Itnotonlywouldassessresearchfindingsandresults,butitwouldalsoassessthequalityoftheresearchitself,therebydisqualifyingmuchresearchasinadequateorinsufficientlyverifiabletobetakentooseriouslybypolicymakers,administrators,educators,andallotherstakeholders.

TheWWChasalsostirredmuchcontroversyoverwhetheritconsidersonlyexperimentaldesignresearchtobe"thegoldstandard"overotherresearchmethods.Thereasonitisimportanttonotehereisthatthereisnoshortageofeducationalinterventions"basedonresearch"thatareproposedtoschoolsystems.WhenmanyofthoseinterventionsareassessedbyWWC,however,theyoftenfallflatashaving"nodiscernibleeffects"oreveninsomecasesasbeing"potentiallydetrimental."

NATIONALSTRATEGIESForsome,desegregationorintegrationeffortsofferthegreatestopportunitiesfor

educationsystemsnationwide.AsstatedbyresearchersatTheCenturyFoundation(Potter,Quick,andDavies,2016):

Studentsinraciallyandsocioeconomicallyintegratedschoolsexperienceacademic,cognitive,andsocialbenefitsthatarenotavailabletostudentsinraciallyisolated,high-povertyenvironments.Alargebodyofresearchgoingbackfivedecadesunderscorestheimprovedexperiencesthatintegratedschoolsprovide.

Thesesameresearchersalsoreferenceotherresearch,includingareviewof59"rigorousstudies"thatpointoutthatintegratedschoolsdemonstrateimprovedoutcomesoverallinmath,andotherresearchthatshowsthatraciallydiverseschoolspromotecritical

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thinkingskills,reducedprejudice,andanarrayofcivicbenefits(likeintegratedneighborhoods)thatsegregatedschoolsdonotprovide.

Theyalsoemphasizethispoint:"AsofOctober2016,TCFhasidentifiedatotalofonehundreddistrictsandcharternetworksacrossthecountrythatnowusesocioeconomicstatusasafactorinstudentassignment."

NEWMEXICO'SSTRATEGICHISTORYNewMexicoisfortunatetohavearichanduniquehistoryofhumanperseveranceand

culturalheritageanddiversity.Withthisalsocameaseriesofunfortunateclashesofcivilizations.Thetimeittakestoworkoutthedifficultiesandinequitiesofhistoricalstruggleshasnotconcluded,andtothisdayweseethesestrugglescontinueinmanyaspectsofsociety,includingeducation.

NewMexicoisastate,however,thathaschosentohonorandcherishitsculturaldiversity,andthismindsetisoftenreflectedinpronouncements,strategies,andinitiativescomingfrompolicymakersandeducatorsalike.

In2010,NewMexicoenactedtheHispanicEducationAct(Section22-23B-6NMSA1978),legislationspecificallydesignedtoclosetheacademicachievementgapfacingHispanics.Theactprovides,withoutspecificappropriations,foraHispanicEducationLiaison,aHispanicEducationAdvisoryCouncil,andaHispanicStatewideStatusReport(NMPED,2013,2015b;NCLS,2016).

NewMexicoisalso,asPEDstates,the"onlystatetobeimplementingacomprehensiveIndianEducationAct."TheIndianEducationAct[22-23A-1to22-23A-8etseq.NMSA1978]togetherwiththeImplementingtheIndianEducationAct[6.35.2.6NMAC-N,07-30-15](NMPED,2015c)includesmanypurposesandprovisionsforimprovingtheeducationofNativeAmericanstudents.SomeofthepurposesmostrelevanttoclosingtheeducationalachievementgapforNativeAmericanstudentsarestatedasfollows:

• ensureequitableandculturallyrelevantlearningenvironments,educationalopportunitiesandculturallyrelevantinstructionalmaterialsforAmericanIndianstudentsenrolledinpublicschools;

• ensuremaintenanceofnativelanguages;• provideforthestudy,developmentandimplementationofeducationalsystemsthat

positivelyaffecttheeducationalsuccessofAmericanIndianstudents;• ensurethatparents,tribaldepartmentsofeducation,community-basedorganizations,

thedepartment,universities,andtribal,stateandlocalpolicymakersworktogethertofindwaystoimproveeducationalopportunitiesforAmericanIndianstudents;

• ensurethattribesarenotifiedofallcurriculadevelopmentfortheirapprovalandsupport;and,

• encourageandfosterparentalinvolvementintheeducationofIndianstudents.Additionally,in2015thestatelegislatureandgovernorofficiallycodedintolawthe

Bilingualism-BiliteracyStateSealstatuteandrule[6.32.3.3NMAC-N,09-15-15](NMPED,2015a,2016b).Asstatedonpage8intheGuidanceHandbook:

TheSealofBilingualism/Biliteracyisanawardgivenbyaschoolordistrictinrecognitionofstudentswhohavestudiedand,byhighschoolgraduation,attainedproficiencyinalanguageotherthanEnglish.TheSealofBilingualism/Biliteracyemblemappearsonthediplomaofthegraduatingsenior(includinganotationon

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thestudent’stranscript)andencouragesstudentstopursuebiliteracy,honorstheskillsstudentsattain,andcanbeevidenceofskillsthatareattractivetofutureemployersandcollegeadmissionsoffices...

LikeallK-12statewideeducationsystems,NewMexicoschoolshavealsotriedaplethoraofcommonlyacceptablegapreductionstrategiesinrecentyears.Theseinclude:

• aligningtocontentandperformancestandardsandassessments,• beingmoreresponsivetostudentsculturalandlinguisticassetsandneeds,• focusingmoreattentionoflower-achievingstudentsandsubgroups,• focusingonteachergrowth,• implementingaccountabilitysystems,• increasingaccesstoandapplicationoftechnology,• increasingparentinvolvement,• promotingnewenvironmental/socialclimateandleadershipstrategies,• promotingnewinstructionalandpedagogicalmethods,• providingincreasedtechnicalassistancetolow-performingschools,• seekingoutsideassistanceandtechnicalsupport,and• usingdataforimprovement.PEDhasitselfacknowledgedachievementgapsforlow-incomeandethnicminority

students,andhasfrequentlyreiteratedinitsannualreportsitsowncommitmenttomakingprogressin(NMPED,2006,2010).

FewwouldarguewiththeoverallframeworkanddetailsofPED'sstrategicplansandinitiativesasbeinggoodforthestate.Forexample,in2010itarticulatedaneducationalreformplanthatincludedincreasedfocusandefforton:"(1)AcademicRigorandAccountability;(2)ClosingtheAchievementGap;(3)SchoolReadiness;(4)QualityTeachers;(5)Parent&CommunityInvolvement;(6)21stCenturyClassrooms;and(7)College&WorkforceReadiness."

Ithasalsoinitiatedavarietyofstrategiesdesignedtonarrowtheseachievementgaps.Theseinclude:

• RatchetinguppublicPre-Kprogramstobringearlylearningopportunitiesthrough664licensedprovidersstatewidetomorethan1,500children;

• Implementingnutritioninitiativesandstatewideelementarybreakfastprograms,andbeingrecognizedbytheFoodandResearchActionCenterin2007ashavingthehighestpercentageofeligiblestudentseatingfreeandreduced-pricebreakfast(NMPED,2010a).

• Increasingthenumberofschool-basedhealthcentersto56statewideandimplementingphysicaleducationandanti-obesityinitiatives.

LikeallSEAs,manyofthestate's"strategies"forclosingachievementgapsarealsoexpressedasoutcomes.Forexample:"Ensurethatallchildrenarereadyforkindergarten"or"IncreaseproficiencyinEnglishforEnglishLanguageLearners."

And,likemostifnotallSEAs,NewMexicohastriedandimplementedalonglistofperformanceandachievementmeasuresasbothdataanalysisstrategiesandaccountabilitymechanisms.

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Additionally,thereareseveralformalandinformalcollaborationsaddressingtheNewMexicoacademicachievementgap.TheseincludetheNewMexicoAchievementGapResearchAlliance,anoutgrowthofSEDL(formerlyknownastheSouthwestEducationalDevelopmentLaboratory)thatformsanetworkofeducationleadersknownasCoreAllianceMemberstoaddressachievementgapsandshareresources(SEDL,2016).

PROMISINGPRACTICESMosteducators,administrators,researchers,andpolicymakerswouldprobablyagree

withmuchthatisincludedinthispapersofar,butalsothatweneedtoknowwhatwecandothatgivesusthebestopportunityforsuccessforclosingachievementgaps.Wecanonlysuggestthatwetrytofindresearch,oreveninventtheprocessfromscratchifnecessary,tocarryoutwhatwearecallingthecapablesteps.

Weknowwhatwewanttoknow:iCare,orthecapablesteps.Seekoutresearchoraprocessthatincludesthefollowing...

1. intentional(ifwedoAthenBwillhappen),

2. concrete(doitlikethis),

3. affordable(canbeimplementedandcompletedontime),

4. replicable(wecandoitagainandagain),and

5. empirically-verifiable(wecanmeasurethesuccessfuloutcomes)

actionsteps(hereinafterreferredtoasiCare,orthecapablesteps).

Beforewelistsomeoftheotherpromisingpracticesforclosingachievementgapsineducation,wewishtoprovideanon-exampletomakeapoint.

DevelopmentalBridgePrograms.Everyoneknowsthatpost-secondarysummerbridgeprograms—thatis,extra-curricularbutintenselyacademicandacceleratedprogramsdesignedtohelpstudentsprepareforcollege—aregenerallyagoodthing.TheWWC,however,reviewedanumberofdevelopmentalsummerbridgeprogramsandfoundthatthey"havenodiscernibleeffectsonacademicachievement,postsecondaryenrollment,andcreditaccumulationforpostsecondarystudents"(WhatWorksClearinghouse,2015).

Atthesametime,weknowthatdevelopmentalbridgeprogramsmaybebeneficialinmanyways,theymayjustnotbethebestoptiongivenallconsiderationsorrequiredoutcomes,suchasacademicachievement.Forexample,OlguinandKeim(2009)conductedalimitedqualitativestudy,usingsurveysandsiteaudits,toassessapost-secondarycareertransitionplan,TheNewMexicoNextStepPlan(NSP),andtohelpexplainwhystakeholderrelationshipsmaybeimportanttohelpcloseachievementgapsforethnicyouth.Basedonparticipantfeedback,theyreporthowthestudygarneredinsightsinto"howtheschoolcounselingcurriculumcanutilizestakeholdersincareerdevelopmentactivitiestopromotestudents’academicsuccess"(Olguin&Keim,2009).TheirarticlewaspublishedintheJournalofSchoolCounselingandistheonlyNewMexicoentryonachievementgapsthatispeer-reviewedandappears(with'NewMexico'and'achievementgap'inquotes)intheERICdatabase.

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Whatthesestudiestellusisthatwecangetusefulknowledgeandresultsfromwell-designedinterventions;however,aswiththestudiestheWWCreviewed,wedonotalwaysgettheintentionalresults,likeacademicachievementorgapreduction,thatwehopefor.

ImprovingAchievementofStudentsofColorAccordingtoDelgado(2014),Beforeachievementgapscantrulybeaddressed,itwillbeimportantforresearcherstobetterunderstandtheimportanceofachievementinearlychildhood,overtimeandhowthatvariesbyethnicity,gender,SESandELLstatus.

CharterSchoolsandStudentsfromLow-IncomeNeighborhoods.ThePromiseAcademycharterschool,associatedwiththeHarlemChildren'sZone(HCZ)inNewYorkCity'sHarlemdistrict,hasgarneredalotofattentionandexcitementinrecentyears.HCZ"combinesreform-mindedcharterschoolswithawebofcommunityservicesdesignedtoprovideapositiveandsupportivesocialenvironmentoutsideofschool."Becauseoflimitedenrollmentcapacity,theschoolimplementedarandomizedlotterysystemforadmissionintotheschool,whichineffectsetupanexperimentalgroup(admittedstudents)andacomparisongroup(studentsnotadmitted).Astudyofstudentoutcomes,usingstandardizedstatewidemathandEnglishlanguagearts(ELA)tests,clearlyshowthatadmittedstudentsscoredsignificantlybetterinsixth,seventh,andeighthgrademath,aswellaseighthgradeELA(Dobbie&Fryer,2009).TheWWCreviewedthestudyandstatedthatthe"researchdescribedinthisreportisconsistentwithWWCevidencestandards."

However,justtomakeapointaboutcomplexityinachievementgapresearch,furtherresearchseemedtounderminethoseclaims.TheHCZ,thenon-profitorganizationthatdirectlysupportsthePromiseAcademy,quicklygainednationalattention,includingafeatureontheCBS60MinutesprogramaswellasaccoladesfromPresidentObamaasastrategytocombaturbanpoverty.Asaresult,theformerAssistantSecretaryofEDandthefirstandformerIESDirector,GroverWhitehurst,havingthentakenapositionwiththeconservativeBrookingsInstitution,ledanewstudyofHCZ-supportedschoolstoseehowtheycomparedacademicallywithothercharterschools.Whatwasnodoubtdisappointingtomany,hisstudyfoundthat"achievementbystudentsinHCZschoolsisunexceptionalrelativetoothercharterschools"(Whitehurst&Croft,2010).

RegardlessoftheresultsfoundbytheBrookingInstitution,themomentumoftheHCZexperiencehasalreadyspreadandthereisnowafederalgrantprogram,"PromiseNeighborhoods,"thatisbasedontheHCZmodelofschoolsandcommunityservicesworkingtogetherto"improvetheeducationalanddevelopmentaloutcomesofchildrenandyouthinourmostdistressedcommunities,andtotransformthosecommunities"(ED,2016b).

WhattheWhitehurstandCroftstudydidnottakeintoaccount,however,iswhattheHarlemneighborhoodschoolswerelikebeforeHCZ,andwhattheymightbeliketodayiftheydidnothaveHCZsupport,andthatthe"PromiseNeighborhoods"modelismoreholistic,long-term,andfuture-oriented.Egalite(2016)putsitthisway:

HCZisa'pipeline'modelthataimstotransformanentirecommunitybytargetingservicesacrossmanydifferentdomains.Therefore,wemayhavetowaituntilacohortofstudentshasprogressedthroughthatpipelinebeforewecangetafullpictureofhowthesecomprehensiveserviceshavebenefitedthem.ThefirstcohorttocompletetheentireHCZprogramisexpectedtograduatefromhighschoolin2020.

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Hispanic/LatinoStudentsWefindthattherearenorobuststudies,atleastthatweknowof,thatprovidethe

capablestepstogoaboutclosingtheacademicachievementgapbetweenHispanicstudentsandotherethnicgroups,particularlyinNewMexico.Wewouldbethrilledtobeabletosaythatthesolutionsareeasyandthatthegoodfightisover.

Instead,educatorsoftenfindthemselvesatthesamecrossroadseveryyear:togorightorleft,andsettleonstrategiesdesignedtoimprovetheachievementofallstudents,hopingthatwillclosethegap;orgotheotherwayandimplementcompensatorystrategiesdesignedtoofferlower-performingstudentsmoreseparatetime,attention,andresources.

TheAmericanFederationofTeachers(AFT,2004),anadvocateforitsaffiliates,madeupofpublicschools,teachers,andinstitutionsofhighereducation,takesamoresystemicapproach.AFTdevelopedalistofrecommendationforitself,onwhatitcandotoprovideleadershipforimprovingeducationaloutcomesforLatinostudents.Theseinclude:

1. PromoteaccesstomoreacademicallyrigorouscourseworkforLatinostudents.2. Callforthestrengtheningofdropoutpreventionprograms.3. Promoteresearch-basedinformationoneffectiveinstructionforlinguisticallyand

culturallydiversestudents.4. Advocateforstrongerprofessionaldevelopmentprogramsforteachersoneffective

instructionforEnglishlanguagelearners.5. Continuetosupportfederalandstatelegislationthatallowsundocumented

studentstoseekachangeintheircitizenshipstatussothattheycanattendcollegeandseekemployment.

6. Continuetohelpresource-poorschoolsimproveandpromotestrategiesthatwork,includingearlychildhoodeducationprograms.

7. Promoteadulteducationandparentinvolvementprograms.

Miksic(2014)advocatesforschool-andcommunity-widereformsthatinclude:• Smallerclasssizes,• Increasingaccesstocharterandreligiousschools,• Increasingacademicrigor,• GovernmentsupportsystemssuchasHeadStart,• CommunityinclusionprogramssuchastheHarlemChildren’sZone,and• Programsthatbuildacademicidentityandsocialcapitalforunderachievingyouths.

NativeAmericanStudentsAswithHispanicstudentsinNewMexico,wefindthattherearenorobuststudiesthat

provideforthecapablestepstogoaboutclosingthegapbetweenNativeAmericanstudentsandotherethnicgroups.Thereare,however,numerousgoodqualitystudies,analyticalessays,andopinionpapersaboutraisingtheacademicachievementofNativeAmericans,andonecouldextrapolatetheprinciplesandmethodsforimplementinggapreductionstrategies.Acoupleofkeyresourcesonthistopicincludethefollowing:

Mid-continentResearchforEducationandLearning(McREL,2003)reviewedtheeffectivenessof16studiesofprogramsdesignedtoraiseNativeAmericanstudentachievementinEnglishlanguageartsandmathematicstomeetdesignatedstandards.Their

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findingsweremixedwithsomeprogramsmeetinggrade-levelexpectations,butoveralltheycouldnotfindacausallinksufficienttorecommendthatschoolsadopttheseprograms.Atthesametime,theyfoundthatthemoresuccessfulprogramsdidhavecommoncharacteristics,thatMcRELsuggestsarepromisingpractices.Theseinclude:1)toteachindigenouslanguageandliteracybeforelearningtoreadandwriteinEnglish,2)tofocusonreadingcomprehension,collaborativelearning,andregularmonitoringasstudentsprogress,and3)touseculturallyrelevantinstructionalmaterials,includingformathematics.

ChristopherLohse(2008),leadresearcherfortheNationalCaucusofNativeAmericanStateLegislators,conductedresearchandin-depthanalysisoftheachievementgapfacingNativeAmericansinK-12schools.HisreportincludesdetailedanalysesoftheeducationalstatusofNativeAmericans,includingtheachievementgapsofNativeAmericanscomparedwithotherethnicities.HepairstheanalyseswithasystematicextractionofprinciplesandeducationalandpolicyrecommendationsforimprovingtheeducationofNativepeoples.Hispolicyrecommendationsincludesystemicimprovementsinthecategoricalareasof1)staffingpatterns,2)courseofferings,and3)parental,family,andcommunitysupport.

TheObamaAdministrationhasalsoweighedinonthesubjectwiththeGenerationIndigenousor"GenI"initiativethatsupportscommunityprojectsandanationalnetworkfornativeyouth(ICMNStaff,2015).EDalsoannouncedinFall2016"newresourcesaimedatclosingtheachievementgapsothatallnativestudents—whetherintribalortraditionalpublicschools—havetheopportunitytosucceed"(ED,2016a).TheseincludeanewroundofeducationalgrantopportunitiesaswellasaNavajoNationAgreementthatallowsBureauofIndianEducation(BIE)fundedschoolsinNewMexico,Arizona,andUtahtotakegreatercontrolofhowtheyimplementfederal-fundingrequirements,suchasstandardsandassessments.

Therearealsoliving,breathingsocialandcommunitylaboratorieswhereNativeAmericaneducatorsandsupportersaretakingmattersintotheirownhandsinapursuittouseeducationtoempowernativecommunities.TheseincludetheNativeAmericanCommunityAcademy(NACA),agrades6-12secondarycharterschoolfoundedin2006"designedtoservetheacademic,cultural,andwellnessneedsofNativeAmericanyouth"(Krause,2013).About95percentofNACAstudentsareNativeAmerican,representing50tribes,whichincludesthe22nativetribeswithinNewMexicoaswellasotherswhosefamiliesmigratedhereinrecentanddistantyearspast.

NACA's"corevalues,"designedtoimprovestudents’academicachievement,includetraditionalNativeAmericanvaluessuchasrespect,responsibility,community/service,culture,perseverance,andreflection(Krause,2013).Somemay,asdothefoundersofNACA,insistthatthesevaluesareimportantfortheholisticwellnessoftheirstudents,andarethereforeprerequisitesforlong-termacademicachievement.AccordingtoKrause:

Aftersixyears,studentsofallagesclearlyarticulatehowdifferentschoolisforthem;howtheyfeelasenseofpridewhentheyfreelyexpresstheiridentity;howtheyhavelearnedtorespectallothercultures;andmostimportantofall,howtheyseeafuturebuiltonacollegeeducation.Studentsexpressgratitudeforbeinginaneducationsettingthatconnectstheirindividualbackgroundandculturetotheiracademics.Theyseewheretheyfitin--anessentialvariableforteenagers.

ImprovingtheEducationofEnglishLearnersTheacademicachievementgapsbetweenELsandnon-ELsispersistentandremains

aboutthesamesizeasthegapbetweenwhiteandblackchildren(NCES,2011).Thereis

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considerableresearch,however,showingthatcertainbilingualmodelsorprogramsaremoreeffectivethanothersundercertainconditionsandotherfactors,includingprogress,yearsinaprogram,andgrade.ValentinoandReardon(2015),forexample,reviewedresearchonvariousbilingualmodels,focusinglargelyonLatinoandChinesestudents.Intheirsummarystatements,theysuggestthat"forLatinostudentsinparticular,two-languageprogramsleadtobetteracademicoutcomesthanEnglishimmersionprogramsinthelong-term."Fortheselectedprogramtobeagapequalizer,however,wouldrequiremoreinformationaboutwhetheritisabletonarrowthegapsbetweenELsandnon-ELs.

ELsandEarlyChildhoodEducation.BecauseELsbydefinitionarenotfullyfluentinEnglishwhentheyfirstenteraschoolandthereforeenteratadisadvantage,inmanycases,thegapbetweenthemandtheirEnglish-fluentpeerswidensovertheschoolyearandcontinuesgrade-by-grade.Asolutionoftenrecommendedasaremedytoinequitablestartingpointsisearlychildhooddevelopmentandpreparation,orpreschool(Herbert,2012).Thisistrueforbothlearninglanguagesandlearningcontent.

BodovskiandFarkas(2007)found,forexample,thatstudentswithhigherinitialskillsandreadinessinmathematicsshowgreatermathematicsgrowthratesfromkindergartentograde3overcohortswithlowerskills.Therefore,ifthemathematicsgapistobereduced,thestartingpointmustbeequalizedandschoolsmustacttopreparestudentsoflowerskillsinadvance.

Astrongcasefordual-languageeducation.Manyscholarsinthefieldofbilingual/multiculturaleducationinNewMexicoareveryfamiliarwiththeworkofVirginiaThomasandWayneCollier,longtimeresearchersandevaluatorsinthefield.Formorethan30years,ThomasandCollierhavebeencollectingandtrackingoutcomesdataonhundredsofthousands(nowtotalingmillions)ofELstudents.Theirmanyyearsofpublishedfindings,routinelycorroboratedbyotherresearchers,aresummedupintheirlatestbooksDualLanguageEducationForATransformedWorld(2012)andCreatingDualLanguageSchoolsforaTransformedWorld:AdministratorsSpeak(2014).

TheessenceoftheworkofThomasandColliertellsusinthelanguageofeducationalresearchwhatmanyexperts,includingteachers,inthefieldhavebeensayingallalong:thatitisimportanttoeducatelanguageminoritychildreninthelanguageinwhichtheycurrentlyspeak,andthink,anddream.Additionally,thereissubstantialresearchthatdemonstratestheincreased,andoftenamazing,personalandsocietalbenefitsofchildrenlearningacademiccontentinmorethanonelanguage,particularlyininwell-structuredenvironments.And,therearestrongclaimsthatduallanguagelearningcanreversetheachievementgap,notonlyforELs,butalsoforotherhistoricallylow-performinggroups,suchasAfricanAmericans,andstudentsfromfamiliesoflowSES(Groom&Hanson,2013).

Aquickwarning:thelistissolongthatasimplebrowsersearchwouldturnupatleasthundredsofthousandsifnotmillionsofwebpageselaboratingonthispoint.

Butimplementingdual-languageeducationcanbemorecomplicatedthanitappears.Schoolsneedwell-trainedbilingualeducators,stakeholderandadministrativebuy-in,andhigh-qualityinstructionalmaterialsandassessmentsjusttogetstarted.Asthereisnoone-size-fits-allapproachineducation,andthereissomuchresearchinsomanyrelatedareas,teachersareremindedtofirsttrytonarrowtheirsearchforwhat'spracticalforthembystate,region,grade,subject,andstudentpopulations.

InstructionalMethodsThereisaseeminglyendlesslistofinstructionalmethodsorpracticesofteaching,some

referredtoaspedagogies,thathavelargefollowings,fans,anddevoteesamongteachers

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andscholars.Theseinclude,forexample,activeorexperientiallearning,personalizationorchild-centerededucation,authenticorsituatedlearning(instructioninpracticalcontexts),culturallyandlinguisticallyresponsiveinstruction(focusingonthechild'slanguageandculture),constructivisteducation(givingstudentstheopportunitytoconstructneworpersonalizedmeaning),servicelearning(addingsocialmeaningtothelearningcontext),masterylearning,andmanymore.Alloftheaboveusuallyincludesomepracticesorstrategiesthataddresstheemotional,psychosocial,and/orbehaviorneedsofstudentsaswell.Mostcollegesofeducationensurethattheirgraduateshaveatleastsomeexposuretoalargerepertoireofthesetoincludeintheirteaching-learningtoolbox.

Sowhyareachievementgapsineducationmoreoftenthannotremainingstagnantorevenwideningastimeprogresses?Onemightarguethatitisbecauseeventhoughschoolsareoftenfocusingonimplementingrecommendedteachingpractices,mostschoolsrarelytakeactionsthatfocusspecificallyonclosingachievementgapsdirectly,suchasensuringthatstudentsarepreparedandtrackedintomoresuccessfulpathways.Forexample,theNAEP2009HighSchoolTranscriptStudyfoundthatonlysmallpercentagesofblack,Hispanic,andELstudents,comparedtowhiteandAsianstudents,hadparticipatedina"rigorouscurriculum"(NCES,2009).Unfairtracking,lackofpreparation,notcreatingpathways,andsegregation,evenunintentionally,arelikelytowidenachievementandopportunitygapsratherthemreversethem.ItispresentlynotknowntowhatextentmostpublicuniversitiesthroughouttheUnitedStates,NewMexicoincluded,areactuallypreparingteachersandadministratorstoconductachievementgapneedsassessments,analysis,andstrategicplanning.

Belowaresomeinstructionalmethodsthatmayserveasgoodexamplesofthecomplexitiesandpossibilitiesofimplementinggapreductionstrategiesintheclassroom.

DialogicReading.TheaforementionedGroverWhitehurstisalsoknownasthekeydeveloperofanearlychildhood(toddlersandPre-K)readingpracticethatcanbeconductedbystaffandvolunteersinpubliclibraries,orevenathome.Itisdescribedasfollows:

"DialogicReading"isaninteractivesharedpicturebookreadingpracticedesignedtoenhanceyoungchildren'slanguageandliteracyskills.Duringthesharedreadingpractice,theadultandthechildswitchrolessothatthechildlearnstobecomethestorytellerwiththeassistanceoftheadult,whofunctionsasanactivelistenerandquestioner(WhatWorksClearinghouse,2006).

Aquicksearchof"DialogicReading"(inquotes)intheERICdigitallibraryreturns94citations,77ofwhicharepeer-reviewedstudies.Thatisbecausethereadingpracticewasexperiencingsomedocumentedsuccesssincethe1990s.AmorerecentreviewbytheWWC(2006)ofsixstudiesinvolvingthepracticefoundittohave"positiveeffectsfororallanguage,potentiallypositiveeffectsforprintknowledge,nodiscernibleeffectsforphonologicalprocessing,andpotentiallypositiveeffectsforearlyreading/writing."Itfollows,therefore,thatmanyotheracademicsandotherresearchershaveeithertriedtoreplicatesomeofthestrategy'spurportedsuccess,ortotestitinvariationswithotherpopulationsubgroupsanddifferentenvironments.Today,DialogicReadingasapracticeisfreetothepublicanddoesnotcomefromasingleproprietarymaterialsdeveloperorvendor.Forittobeadoptedbyateacher,PLC,school,district,oreventhestate,itwouldmakesensefortheend-userstofurtherrefinetheirsearchinorderassessthevalueofthisstrategyforaspecificcontext.

Personalizedwriting.Inawell-designedstudythatmetwiththeapprovaloftheWWC,Cohenetal.(2009)triedanovelstrategythattheyanticipatedwouldimprovetheacademicachievementofmiddle-schoolAfrican-Americanstudentsandreducethegapwith

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whitestudents.ThestudyhadAfrican-Americanstudentswriteessaysabouttheirpersonalvalues(i.e.peopleandexperiencespersonallyimportanttothemselves),whilewhitestudents,thecomparisongroup,wroteaboutneutralsubjects.Theresultwasthattheexperimentalgroupgainedgroundandnarrowedthegapontheirgradepointaveragesinmath,science,socialstudies,andEnglish.

Nodoubtmanyofourteacherswouldquestionwhetheritisfairandmakessensetogiveonepopulationaninstructionalstrategythatweknowhaspromise,andtowithholditfromanotherpopulation.Thefollow-upquestion,thatwewouldhavetoaskourselves,maybewhetherprovidingthisstrategyforallstudentpopulationsempowersthosewhoarepersistentlylessengagedinschool,possiblyduetolackofculturalrelevance,togainsomegroundandreducethegap.Theanswerwouldhavetocomefromin-schoolmeasurementandevaluation,andpossiblyatthegrade,subject,andclassroomlevels.

In-SchoolActionResearchTheissueofwhateducatorsonthegroundcandotoeffectpositiveresultsinstudent

achievementisanopenquestion,whichiscompoundedbytheneedtofocusonclosingtheachievementgap.

PhyllisS.Martinez(2013),adoctoralgraduateofUNM,conductedaphenomenologicalstudywheresheinvestigatedtheexperienceandperspectivesofpersonsinvolvedinthepracticesofbilingualeducation.SheconductedsmallgroupandindividualinterviewswithbothrecentimmigrantandnativeNewMexicoHispanichighschoolstudents(N=16)andtheirparents(N=4)aswellascurrentandrecentschoolstaffpersonnel(N=9).Althoughherfindingsaremany,sheincludesthisinterpretationofresults:

Thisresearchusesthewordsofstudents,teachers,andparentstobeginthatprocess.Findingsfromdatacollectedthroughinterviewswithinsiderperspectives,hasproducedconceptsandthemesthatconnecttotheresearchquestions,seekinganswersabouttheeffectivenessofbilingualeducation.Conceptsandthemeswerespecifictothequestion:Whatdoparticipantsidentifyaswhatworkedandwhatdidnotwork;whatwashelpfultotheirlearningandwhatwasnot;allfortheprocessoflanguageacquisition,academicachievement,andoverallstudentsuccess.Theirobservationsofferunderstandingandinsightsinrelationtocurrentlyimplementedbilingualeducationprograms.

Gatheringandinterpretingtheperspectivesoflocalparticipants,Martinezfoundmanysurprises.Forexample,studentsinformedherthatthe"biggestobstacleinlanguageinstructionaccordingtomoststudentsinthisstudy,(was)thesmallamountoftimespentinclassroomswherestudentswererequiredtospeakthelanguage."ShealsofoundthatperspectivesofthetwoHispanicgroups,recentimmigrantandlong-termnativeNewMexicansweredifferentattheschoolshestudied.Shesumsupthatparticularfindingthisway:"Thedaysofa'onesizefitsall'programthatcanaddresstheneedsofallstudents,isover."Althoughthisstudy'smethodsandfindingsarenotnecessarilygeneralizabletoallbilingualschools,itisindicativeofhowusefulandstraightforwarditistoexploretheperspectivesofthepeopleinone'sownenvironmentandnotsimplytolookpastourselvesandexclusivelytowardtheguidancefromabove.Weshouldpossiblydoboth,dependingonrelevanceandtheparticulars.

Foreducatorson-sitetomovetowardbecomingtheexpertsofstudentachievementandnarrowinggapsintheirschoolsandclassrooms,theyneedtoatleastconductatraditionalanalysis,design,development,implementation,andevaluation(ADDIE)process(Morrison,

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2010).WhatisoftengiveninadequateattentionintheADDIEprocessarethetwomostimportantphases:developmentandimplementationofactivities.Wemustbecareful,however,nottoletanalysis,whereweoftengetintotheweeds,toovercometheprocess;weneedtorapidlyimplementthework.Instructionaldesignersoftenrefertothisasrapidprototyping(startdoingtheworkordevelopingtheproductsandrefineandadjustasonegoesalong).

Inandoutofschoolresearchitisnotaneither-orproposition.In-schoolactionresearchandexternalresearchandguidanceneedtoworktogether.Practitionersshouldnotgetboggeddownwiththetediousandoftentime-consumingtaskofreviewing,simplifying,andsynthesizingresearchonesoterictopicsbecauseinmostcasesthatistheresponsibilityofsomeone,paidbyourtaxdollars,tohavealreadydoneitforus.Practitionerscansimplyreview,deconstruct,and/oradaptthehigher-levelsynthesesandguidancethatsummarizeswhatisknown.Thebulkoftheirtimemightbebetterspentinthereal-lifelaboratorythatawaitsthem.

SomevariationsofADDIEincludePADDIE+M,wherePstandsforplanningandMstandsformaintenance.AccordingtoWikipedia(seeADDIE),thePADDIE+M"modelisgainingacceptanceintheUnitedStatesgovernmentasamorecompletemodelofADDIE."Oldschoolinstructionaldesignerswouldprobablyarguethatplanningispartofdesign,andmaintenanceorsustainabilityissimplysustainingtheprocessifitworks.

NeedsAssessments.ThereisanabundanceofguidanceavailableforeachphaseofADDIE,butacriticaloneforclosingachievementgapsisanalysis,ormoreappropriatelyineducation,conductinganeedsassessment.Rossett(1987),forexample,seestheneedsassessmentprocessasaninquiryintothegapbetweenactualsandoptimals,whereactualsrepresentthecurrentstatus,suchasthesizeofanachievementgap,andoptimalsrepresentsthedesiredstatus,whichcanbenogapatall,orovertimeatargetreductioninthegap,likeanarrowingof10pointseachyear.Thiswouldsolveamuchneededre-focusonhowwemostoftenaddressachievementgaps,becausewewouldbefocusedonthegapitself,andnotjustonraisingachievementofallstudents,which,evenifsuccessful,wouldinmostcasesmeanthatthegapremains,justatahigherlevel.Aperpetualcycleofinequity.

Aquicksearchof"needsassessments"(inquotes)onERICyields18,4776citations.Pairedwith"achievementgap"(alsoinquotes)ityields29citations.Ifaschoolwishestoconductaneedsassessmentofitsachievementgaps,itdoesnotmakesensethatallpersonsassistinginthetaskreadallofthesecitationsorhavethesameknowledgeandexpertise.Rather,bilingualteacherscouldchoosetofocusonthecitationDualLanguageLearnersintheEarlyYears:GettingReadytoSucceedinSchool(Ballantyne,Sanderman,andMcLaughlin,2008),distributedbytheNationalClearinghouseforEnglishLanguageAcquisition(NCELA).Thispublicationlaysoutagreatmanygapsandneedsfacingdual-languagelearnersandmaysimplifyatleastpartoftheADDIEprocessforservingthispopulationsubgroup.

Therearemanyfree,onlineaccessibleresearchsummariesavailableforallcontentareasandissuesandtheymayallbegoodprimersforgettingstarted.However,wearealsoawarethatexternalresearch,guidance,andrequirementsalonehavenotnarrowedtheachievementgapstooptimalorevenacceptablelevels.Acknowledgingthatfactcanopenthedoortoseeifexpertsintheschoolsthemselvescanfindtheirownsolutions.Themostpromisingstrategymaybeactionresearch,whichusuallyfollowssomesemblanceoftheADDIEmethod,andisdefinedinWikipediaasfollows:

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Actionresearchiseitherresearchinitiatedtosolveanimmediateproblemorareflectiveprocessofprogressiveproblemsolvingledbyindividualsworkingwithothersinteamsoraspartofa"communityofpractice"toimprovethewaytheyaddressissuesandsolveproblems.

Imaginethat.Practitionersengagedinthetasksanddevelopingtheexpertisetobeanintegralauthorityintheirownpersonalgrowth,aswellascollaboratingwithcolleaguesintheanalysis,design,development,implementation,andevaluationofon-siteachievementgapsolutions.

Thesefinaltwobitsofadvicepertaintorapidprototypingandlayersofnecessity.• Bitoneisrapidprototyping:getstartedonthesolutionnow,eventhoughthe

analysisphaseisstillinexistence.StartalloftheADDIEprocessessimultaneouslyifitseemspracticalandworthwhile.Forexample,startusingyournewmathematicsstrategyandlettheexperienceinformyouranalysisanddevelopmentphasesaswell.

• BittwoistoimplementyourADDIEinpracticalways.Forexample,TessmerandWedman(1990)developedtheLayersofNecessityModelasawaytostreamlinetheinstructionaldesignanddevelopmentprocess.Theprinciplesofthemodel,however,aretransferrabletothepresentcontextofconductinganADDIEtonarrowachievementgaps.Theseincludedoingwhatispracticalandnecessaryandnotdoingwhatisunnecessaryorunrealisticallycomplexormeticulous.Overcomplicatingcanbecounter-productive.Inthepresentcontext,avoidgettingcaughtupinafull-blownneedsassessmentifittakestoomuchtimeawayfromtheteachingandlearningprocess.ScaledowneachoftheADDIEphasestowhatispracticalandnecessarytoaddresstheissue,andconsiderusingexternalconsultantsorfacilitatorstohelpmovethingsalongasquicklyaspossible.

SUMMARYBecauseofthemultivariatenatureofthecausesofachievementgapsineducation,we

arefindingthatthatthereisnoone-size-fits-allapproachthatwecanallagreeonthatwouldsolvetheequityissuesacrossourmanydistrictsandschools.

TheEducationalOpportunityMonitoringProjectatStanfordUniversity,forexample,focusesontwodimensionsofeducationalequity:1)patternsofeducationalopportunityand2)experiencesandpatternsofeducationalprogressandoutcomes(CEPA,2016).Theseinclude:

1. Keyfeaturesofeducationalopportunityandexperiences:e.g.skilledteachers,highqualityeducationalenvironments,andchallengingcurricula.

2. Keyindicatorsofeducationalprogressandoutcomes:e.g.exposureoraccesstoearlychildhooddevelopment,supportsforsocial,emotional,andbehavioraldevelopment,andaswellasgraduationratesandpayingparticularattentiontotheseoutcomesrelatedtorace/ethnicity,familySES,andgender.

Tocomplicatematters,researchersaremakingthepointthatclosingtheachievementgapisnotanendtoitselfandmanyschoolsthatnarrowtheirgapsarenotnecessarilyhighperformingorevenmakingAdequateYearlyProgress(Ratcliff,Costner,Carroll,Jones,Sheehan,&Hunt,2016;Anderson,Medrich,&Fowler,2007).

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ThesumofthisanalysissuggeststhatthesolutionsweseekforclosingachievementgapsandraisingeducationalachievementinNewMexicowillnotnecessarilybefoundexternally,atleastnotexclusively.Therefore,wemustconsiderlookinginternallytoincreaserelevanttrainingandsupportsforthestreamoffutureleadersandpotentialexpertsweplaceintoeducation,includingIHEteacherpreparationfaculty,administrativestaffattheschoolanddistrictlevels,andespeciallywell-trainedteachersandspecialists.Inorderforallofustobeeffectiveinourrespectiverolesforclosingachievementgaps,andtherebyimprovingtheacademicperformanceofallchildren,especiallythosestrugglingtocatchup,weneedtobeactiveresearchers,analysts,strategists,andevaluators(i,e.experts)inourspecificcontext,whichincludestheclassroomlevel.

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APPENDIXA:LEGISLATIVEHISTORYThisappendixprovidesabriefhistoryoffederallegislationdesignedtoaddress

inequityinAmericaneducation.Webelievethatitisimportanttohaveatleastageneralunderstandingofthehistoryinordertoknowwhyalleducationsystemsarerequiredtoaddresstheissue.

CivilRightsActof1964.WiththeCivilRightsActof1964,theCommissioneroftheOfficeofEducationwaschargedwithproducingareport,latertobeknownastheEqualityofEducationalOpportunityreport,or"ColemanReport"(Colemanetal,1966),toaddresstheproblem"concerningthelackofavailabilityofequaleducationalopportunitiesforindividualsbyreasonofrace,color,religion,ornationalorigininpubliceducationalinstitutionsatalllevelsintheUnitedStates,itsterritoriesandpossessions,andtheDistrictofColumbia."

TheColemanReport.Afterassessingasampleof4,000schools,including600,000studentsnationwide,theEqualityofEducationalOpportunityreport,or"ColemanReport"(Colemanetal,1966)asitcametobecalled,providedamyriadofcontroversialfindingsthatarestilldebatedtothisday(Hanushek,2016).Whatisfundamentaltoassessinggapsineducationalachievement,however,isthatthereportprovidedastarkpictureofachievementgaps,aswellasabaseline,thatenablesustoseewhetherprogresshassincebeenmade,ornot.

TheElementaryandSecondaryEducationAct(ESEA).Intheinterveningyearsbetween1964andtheendofthecentury,combinedwithvariousintertwiningpiecesoflegislation,includingiterationsoftheESEA(1965),bothbeforeandaftertheOfficeofEducation/U.S.DepartmentofEducation(ED)waselevatedtoacabinet-levelpositionin1979,cameagreaterfocusonconductingnationalacademicassessmentsonaregularbasis,anddisaggregatingthedatabypopulationsubgroups.

NationalAssessmentofAcademicProgress(NAEP).Intheyearsthatfollowed,EDbeganimplementingtheNAEP,thelargestnationalassessmentofwhatstudentsingrades4,8,and12knowandcandoinavarietyofsubjects,mostnotablymathematics,reading,writing,andscience.Grades4and8areassessedinmathandreadingeverytwoyears,withothersubjectsonastaggeredschedulebysubject,gradeandage.WereferenceNAEPofteninthispaperbecauseitprovidesthemostreliableandstabletrenddataforstudentperformancedisaggregatedbystate,ethnicity,gender,languagestatus,andothervariables.

NoChildLeftBehindActof2001(NCLB).Inthiscentury,earlyinthefirsttermofPresidentGeorgeW.Bush,wesawagreaterfocusonstudenttestingandonachievementgapsemergewithNCLB,anotherreauthorizationanditerationofESEA.NCLBrequiredthatstatesthemselvesalsoassesstheirachievementgapsbydisaggregatedgroupingsandlevelsof"proficiency"andthatstudentprogressbeassessedtoclosethosegapsovertime.

Still,theruleformakingAdequateYearlyProgress(AYP)isdefinedbystatesandusuallymeansthatthegoaliscontinuousgrowthinstudents'achievementacrosssubgroups,ratherthanclosinggaps,especiallyinreadingandmathematics.(Anderson,Medrich,&Fowler,2007).

Atfirst,NCLBmandated100percentacademicproficiencytargetsforallstudents,anobviouslyunrealisticpursuitforthetimes.Despitebeinggrantedawaiverin2012onseveralotherNCLBstandards,thestateeducationagencyinNewMexico(SEA,PublicEducationDepartment,NMPED,PED)helditselftothe100percentproficiencytargetinprincipal(McNeil,2012a,2012b).Itwasperhapssymbolicofitscorebeliefthatall

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students,regardlessofsubgroupingslikeethnicityandlanguagestatus,shallmeetacademicproficiencystandards.Whileitsgoalsandobjectivesmaythereforebecommendableinprinciple,thestate'sactualachievementoutcomesremainlessthanoptimal.

EveryStudentSucceedsActof2015(ESSA).Morerecently,lateinthesecondtermofPresidentBarackObama,anotheriterationoftheESEAwassignedandenactedintolaw:theESSA(2015).UnderESSA,statesarerequiredtosetgoalsthatcloseachievementgapsandgraduationratesamongstudentgroupsconsideredtobemostatriskofachievingfurtherbehindtheirhigher-performingpeers(EducationWeek,2015).Testingremainsarequirement,butstateandlocaleducationagenciesarenowallowedmoreflexibilityonhowtestingisused(Peterson,2016).