The achievement gap has been under close examination for the past 50 years and yet it still persists. Studies show that disabled students, English as a second language students, girls, and low-income students experience significant gulfs in educational achievement when compared to other groups.
The National Educational Association identifies performance on the SATs and other standardized tests, educational opportunity access, including AP courses and/or secondary education, and achievement benchmarks, like diplomas or college degrees as areas where the achievement gap is evident.
Over the years, many policies and programs have been put in place to address this issue and while progress has been made, there is still much work to do. A recent study conducted by the North Central Regional Educational Lab indicates that the reading and math skills of twelfth-grade African American and Hispanic students across the country are the approximate equivalent of eighth-grade white students.
The American University School of Education identifies strategies that can help education professionals, family, and community members make a positive impact in the struggle to reach achievement equality.