Closing the Achievement Gap: a Vision for Changing Beliefs and Practices

School Administrator, Jan, 2005 by Jerry Horgen

Closing the Achievement Gap: A Vision for Changing Beliefs and Practices

Closing the Achievement Gap includes the latest research-based thinking from 12 respected authors who provide practical information on just how schools can improve their students' test results and how to close the gap in performance among our student subgroups.

The publication defines the achievement gap in urban, suburban and rural communities and provides a rich set of comprehensive guiding principles and strategies to assist school leaders.

The contributors point to a renewed emphasis away from the idea of information transmission to an understanding of how students learn with the incorporation of the cultural perspective a significant part of this process. The authors draw on neuroscience, sociocultural experiences, multifaceted ability development, intrinsic motivation and identity studies to inform their views.

Robert Marzano discusses the "how to" in vocabulary development. Kenneth Zeichner stresses the importance of teacher preparation. Bonnie Benard addresses turnaround teachers and schools. Karen Louis and Debra Ingram cite examples of schools that have closed the achievement gap, and Belinda Williams, who edited this work, provides many useful how-to graphs about schoolwide improvement.

This text would be helpful in teacher preparation, districtwide curriculum planning and faculty discussions led by principals.

(Closing the Achievement Gap: A Vision for Changing Beliefs and Practices edited by Belinda Williams, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, Va., 2003, 196 pp. with index, $25.95 softcover)

Jerry Horgen

Adjunct Professor, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minn.