IU and other Indiana public schools are not doing enough to bridge the educational achievement gap, according to a report filed Monday by a University program.\nThe report, conducted but the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, concluded the achievement gaps between poor and wealthy students and between white and nonwhite students remain wide in Indiana, despite increased efforts.\nThe CEEP is a non-partisan, self-funded research center that provides clients with program evaluations.\nAccording to the report, Indiana's nonwhite students are more likely to test lower than their white counterparts. The 2004-2005 10th grade ISTEP, the Graduation Qualifying Exam, revealed a 38 percent difference in passing percentage between white students and African American students. The gap between white students and Hispanic students is 30 percent. Asian students test 8 percent better than white students.\n"By the end of grade four, low socioeconomic and minority students lag behind their peers by two years, and this gap widens to three years by grade eight. By high school, the average African American and Hispanic senior is four years behind," the report stated.\nTerry Spradlin, associate director for the CEEP and primary author of the report titled, "Is the Achievement Gap in Indiana Narrowing?", said gaps in K-12 education could potentially create problems for IU.\n"It will create a disparity at the university level if the K-12 system is unsuccessful," Spradlin said. "If our elementary and secondary education level falls short, it is sure to have an impact."\nSpradlin said the report was written to provide education officials with a comprehensive assessment of the state's achievement gap, as well as provide solutions on how to fix it. The report also attempted to show how Indiana is progressing with No Child Left Behind legislation.\nThe U.S. Department of Education said NCLB has helped bridge the achievement gap throughout the nation.\n"According to the nation's report card, in the past five years we've made more progress in closing the achievement gap than we have in the past 30 years," said Chad Colby, deputy press secretary for the U.S. Department of Education.\nBut the CEEP report said Indiana has made little, if any, progress to meet NCLB's goals.\nAccording to the report, four factors contribute to the achievement gap in Indiana: poverty, early childhood education, teacher quality and track systems.
Poverty\nStudents who live in poverty are more susceptible to factors that inhibit educational performance, according to the report. \n"The effects of poverty, such as poor health care and nutrition, and frequent relocation can cause problems academically," the report stated. "In 2001, Hispanic and African American children were more than twice as likely to be living in poverty compared to white children."\nThe report addressed problems at Indiana's public universities. In 2004, more than 50 percent of all public university graduates in Indiana came from households with an income of more than $40,000. Meanwhile, 28 percent of all degrees were granted to students from a household with an income less than $20,001, with the remaining 19 percent going to students from a household with an income between $20,001 and $40,000.\nPeter Kloosterman, professor of mathematics education and report contributor, said mid-level income students are less likely to graduate than low-level income students because of their inability to acquire financial aid.\nISTEP data shows a bigger discrepancy between high and low-income students in K-12 schools. Students who pay full price for lunch outscored their peers on a free or reduced lunch program by 30 percent, the report stated. Four years ago, the gap was 31 percent.
Early childhood education\nSuellen Reed, Indiana's superintendent of public instruction, said many students perform worse than their peers because they lack early education.\n"Many students start school already behind," she said. "They go to school without the foundation most students have."\nShe said the solution is to provide more early educational opportunities to students, but she noted there were problems.\n"There aren't nearly enough slots for kids in accredited preschool programs," she said. "There are also situations where several kids are staying with a baby sitter just watching TV and that probably isn't the best thing for students."\nReed said most students in a poverty situation lack an at-home parent who can provide them with educational opportunities their higher-income peers have.\nWhile Reed has ideas on how to provide better early education for Indiana's youth, she said it is difficult to find funding for such programs.\nCalls to Gov. Mitch Daniels' office were not returned.
Teacher quality\nThe percentage of classes in a low-income school taught by teachers without a minor in their designated subject area is double that of a wealthier school, according to the report.\n"High-poverty and high-minority schools tend to have a disproportionate number of non-certified and inexperienced teachers," the report stated. \nAdditionally, Reed said low-income schools retain fewer teachers than other schools.
Track system\nThe report also addressed the disproportionate number of students in higher-level high school classes. \nIn 2004, 695 Asian students, 539 African-American students and 316 Hispanic students participated in Advanced Placement courses statewide. In contrast, 12,746 white students took AP courses last year. According to the report, Asians have the highest rate of getting into AP classes at 95 percent. White students have a rate of 23 percent with Hispanics following at 12 percent and black students at 9 percent.\nThe report concluded that if white students take higher-level courses than nonwhite students, a severe gap is evident when students enroll in universities.
