achievement gap, The

Teaching Pre K-8, Aug/Sep 2001

The National Education Goals Panel reports that its seventh year of reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that the best students in several states seem to be improving, while the worst students are losing ground.

Of the 36 states studied for fourth-grade reading scores between 1992 and 1998, eight states saw improvement in reading achievement, the panel reported. Only North Carolina managed to shrink the gap in reading scores between the highest and lowest-- achieving students. The gap grew in 16 states. In addition, states did better in math with seven of 39 states improving their fourth-grade scores and 20 of 32 improving their eighth-grade scores.

As a parent, be sure to get involved and ask what your child's school is doing to close the achievement gap. How you can help your child succeed?

(this information originally appeared In The Associated Press)