Race-based+Achievement+Gaps

Achievement gaps are measurable evidence of racial disparity in the American public school system. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been charting the achievement gaps between Caucasian, African American and Hispanic students since 1992. NAEP measures student performance in both reading and math using a scale of 0-500. The largest achievement gap exists between African American and Caucasian students at the 8th grade level in math, where African American students test 32 points behind Caucasian students. Hispanic students in 8th grade level math test 27 points behind Caucasian students. Overall, achievement gaps at the 4th and 8th grade levels in both reading and math consistently place Caucasian students testing 20-30 points ahead of their African American and Hispanic peers. However, since 2003, achievement gaps between most groups have been decreasing slightly. (US Department of Education, //1990–2005 Reading and Mathematics Assessments//)