Cultivating Leadership For Closing Achievement Gaps & Some
Reasons for Cautious Optimism Ronald F. Ferguson, PhD Faculty
Co-Chair & Director the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard
University, & Creator and Director of the Tripod Project for
School Improvement Leadership for Excellence and Equity for All
Annual Conference DuPage County Regional Office of Education
January 15, 2008 The Achievement Gap Initiative At Harvard
University Web Addresses: www.AGI.Harvard.edu and
www.tripodproject.orgwww.AGI.Harvard.edu To Contact the AGI, Email:
[email protected], 617-496-9154 Slide 2 There is an urgent need for:
Youth cultures that more consistently support behaviors consistent
with academic learning and the pursuit of excellence; Parenting
that nurtures intellectual growth and balances warmth and
responsiveness with structure and demandingness; Teaching that
engages and challenges students; Community supports to supplement
parents and teachers; Leadership to organize, guide and motivate
others in a 21 st Century Social Movement for Excellence with
Equity. Urgency AND Possibility. Slide 3 US Population Shares in
2000 Slide 4 US Population Shares Projected for 2050 Slide 5
Program for International Student Assessment, 15-Year Olds, 2003,
Math Literacy in OECD Nations (Dark Blue = U.S. Students) Slide 6
Program for International Student Assessment, 15-Year Olds, 2003,
Math Problem Solving in OECD Nations (Dark Blue = U.S. Students)
Slide 7 Any fool can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can
count the apples in a seed. Any fool can count the seeds in an
apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed. Rev. Robert
Schuller effectiveness of cultivation, intensity of the search
dedication of effort The bounty of the harvest depends upon the
effectiveness of cultivation, and the effectiveness of cultivation
depends, over time, on the intensity of the search for effective
methods and the dedication of effort to help children reach their
full potential. Slide 8 Some Good News Black-white and
Hispanic-white test score gaps at the high school level for NAEP
and SAT scores narrowed dramatically during the 1970s and 1980s,
during a period when the gap in high school graduation rates also
narrowed. The black-white IQ gap narrowed by more than 25 percent
between 1972 and 2002. There are virtually no differences in mental
ability by SES or race/ethnicity at 9-11 months of age in the
National ECLS. Some More Bad News At the end of the 1980s,
black-white and Hispanic-white gaps for high school students
abruptly stopped narrowing for NAEP scores, SAT scores and high
school graduation rates. Slide 9 Standardized NAEP scores for white
9, 13 and 17-year olds. (Distance below 17-year old whites' scores,
as a fraction of white 17-Year olds' scores in 1996 Reading Math
WHITES Age 17 Age 13 Age 9 1982 1986 1990 1980 1984 1988 1996 2004
1996 2004 *Note: The horizontal axis is the approximate birth year.
Slide 10 Standardized NAEP reading scores for Hispanic 9, 13 and
17-year olds. (Distance below 17-Year old whites' Scores, as a
fraction of white 17-Year olds' scores in 1996 Reading Math
HISPANICS Age 17 Age13 Age 9 Age 17 Age13 Age 9 1996 2004 1992 1990
1996 2004 *Note: The horizontal axis is the approximate birth year.
Slide 11 Standardized NAEP scores for black 9, 13 and 17-year olds.
(Distance below 17-year old whites' scores, as a fraction of white
17-Year olds' scores in 1996 Reading Math BLACKS 1988 1990 Age 17
Age 13 Age 9 Age 17 Age 13 Age 9 2004 1996 1988 1992 1984 1996 2004
1980 1982 1986 Slide 12 Nine-year olds NAEP reading and math for
blacks and whites, by year aged 9. ReadingMath Slide 13 Gain in
NAEP reading and math scores from ages 9 to 13, by the year the
students were 13 years old. Slide 14 Gains from ages 13 to 17 for
synthetic cohorts, by year aged 17 ReadingMath Slide 15 Slide 16
Proportions of African American 12th Graders who Report that they
Never Cut Class, by Major U.S. Census Region Slide 17 Changes from
1984-1996 in black 17-year olds' mean NAEP reading scores, by
region, and in the national percentage of black students who read
daily or almost daily for pleasure Slide 18 Conclusions Concerning
Trends Black-white and Hispanic-white gaps narrowed dramatically
during the 1970s and 1980s, showing clearly that narrowing is
possible. Progress for black and Hispanic teenagers stopped
abruptly at the end of the 1980s, with an apparent (and
unexplained) shift in youth culture among black teens: leisure
reading levels and class attendance both fell. The birth cohort of
black youth that was 13-years old in 1988 had the highest-ever NAEP
reading scores as 13-year olds, but then extremely small reading
gains by the time they were 17 in 1992. It may be just a
coincidence, but 1988-92 was the commercial take-off period for
hip-hop and rap music. The first few years of the present century
have shown higher scores and smaller racial gaps in the NAEP at 4
th and 8 th grades, but not at the high school level. Finally, NAEP
data from 1994 and 2002 show that remaining gaps among 12 th
graders are large at every level of parental education. Slide 19
Leadership And Framing the Work Slide 20 Percentages of teachers
checking each listed statement, concerning the last professional
development program that had little or no effect on teaching or
learning in their classes. Slide 21 Reason Ineffective:What leaders
can do: The way it was introduced didn t inspire me to try it.
Introduce ideas in ways geared to foster interest and positive
anticipation. Teachers were not held accountable for doing it.
Confirm agreements, including on design & use of monitoring and
feedback mechanisms. There was too little support and training.
Offer appropriate training & assistance and organize teams for
peer support & sharing. It was just too much, on top of
everything else the school was trying to do. Establish priorities,
streamline assignments, foster coherence of systems. IMPLICATIONS
Slide 22 Teacher engagement in professional development, such as
addressed on the previous slides, is especially important when
professional development might serve to expand instructional
repertoires for topics that students find difficult to learn. Slide
23 They need to get their act together! We need to get our act
together! Society at LargeNarrative A [behaviors, lifestyles, etc]
Narrative B [e.g., policy, respect,...] Group MembersNarrative C
[e.g., policy, respect,...] Narrative D [behaviors, lifestyles,
etc] Slide 24 Acting White: Realities, Myths and Challenges Slide
25 Percent within each race/ethnic group selecting each response
to, My friends think its important to work hard to get high grades.
MALES NeverUsually Not Some- times UsuallyAlwaysRow Total Black
(n=1095) 7.612.236.826.217.2100% White (n=2776)
8.313.735.831.211.0100% Hispanic (n=562) 6.813.435.130.314.6100%
Asian (n=220) 7.7 31.835. 518.2100% Source: Calculations by Ron
Ferguson, using Tripod Project data for 6 th to 12 th graders
collected spring 2005 from 17 secondary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM,
MA and CA. Slide 26 Percent within each race/ethnic group giving
each response to, My friends think its important to work hard to
get high grades. FEMALESNeverUsually Not Some- times
UsuallyAlwaysRow Total Black (n=1088) 5.910.035.330.118.8100% White
(n=2732) 3.98.131.637.119.4100% Hispanic (n=624)
3.711.538.927.418.4100% Asian (n=184) 2.24.423.441.828.3100%
Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson, using Tripod Project data for
6 th to 12 th graders collected spring 2005 from 17 secondary
schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, MA and CA. Slide 27 Why black high
school students with A-range GPAs agree somewhat more than black
students with C-range GPAs with the statement that, At this school,
students like me get accused of acting white. Percentages of the
predicted difference attributable to each listed factor. Slide 28
Considering all black high school students, why some respond that
people like themselves usually or always get accused of acting
white, while others say usually not or never. Percentages
attributable to each listed factor. Slide 29 Percentages of black
female high school students agreeing that it is at least somewhat
true that, "I sometimes hold back from doing my best in this class,
because of what others might say or think." Shown by GPA and by
whether students responded "never" to the statement, "At this
school, students like me get accused of acting white." Slide 30
Percentages of black male high school students agreeing that it is
at least somewhat true that, "I sometimes hold back from doing my
best in this class, because of what others might say or think."
Shown by GPA and by whether students responded "never" to the
statement, "At this school, students like me get accused of acting
white." Slide 31 Youth Culture beyond Acting White Who are black
youth trying to be? What gives them self esteem? i.e.,: 1.On the
whole, I am satisfied with myself. 2.I feel that I am a person of
worth, at least on an equal basis with others. 3.I take a positive
attitude toward myself. Slide 32 Self-Esteem, by GPA for black and
white High School Students Slide 33 Self-Esteem for male and female
teenagers, related to whether rap or hip- hop music is always
usually, sometimes, usually not or never an important part of my
life. Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson, using Tripod Project
data for 6 th to 12 th graders collected spring 2005 from 17
secondary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, MA and CA. Slide 34
Self-Esteem for male and female teenagers, related to whether rock
music is always usually, sometimes, usually not or never an
important part of my life. Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson,
using Tripod Project data for 6 th to 12 th graders collected
spring 2005 from 17 secondary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, MA and CA.
Slide 35 Self-esteem, by GPA and by whether Hip-Hop music is
usually or always an important part of my life, for black
teenagers. Slide 36 Racial and SES Differences in School Behavior
Slide 37 BlacksWhites Male Female Mothers Years of Schooling
Percent responding, somewhat true, mostly true, or totally true,
that, My behavior is a problem for the teacher in this class. Slide
38 BlacksWhites Male Female Mothers Years of Schooling Percent
responding that at least sometimes, People would probably describe
my behavior style as ghetto. Slide 39 Percentage who agree that at
least sometimes, Some teachers seem afraid of me,
