The Testing Gap

The Testing Gap
Author: Jaekyung Lee
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2007-05-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1607527332

The objective of this book is to advance our understanding of the design, implementation and evaluation of test-driven external accountability policies for improving both academic excellence and equity. This book provides new insights into debates about the efficacy of highstakes testing through critical synthesis of previous studies and through systematic analysis of the achievement gap trends over the past 15 years. The core findings have implications for contemporary national and state policy efforts, as mandated by NCLB, to close the achievement gap. The book alerts readers to scientific, institutional and technical threats to the current test-driven school accountability system, and possible consequences if we fail to counteract those threats and continue the current policy course with underfunded mandates and an over-reliance on testing and sanctions.

The Black-White Test Score Gap

The Black-White Test Score Gap
Author: Christopher Jencks
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 546
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780815746119

" The test score gap between blacks and whites—on vocabulary, reading, and math tests, as well as on tests that claim to measure scholastic aptitude and intelligence--is large enough to have far-reaching social and economic consequences. In their introduction to this book, Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips argue that eliminating the disparity would dramatically reduce economic and educational inequality between blacks and whites. Indeed, they think that closing the gap would do more to promote racial equality than any other strategy now under serious discussion. The book offers a comprehensive look at the factors that contribute to the test score gap and discusses options for substantially reducing it. Although significant attempts have been made over the past three decades to shrink the test score gap, including increased funding for predominantly black schools, desegregation of southern schools, and programs to alleviate poverty, the median black American still scores below 75 percent of American whites on most standardized tests. The book brings together recent evidence on some of the most controversial and puzzling aspects of the test score debate, including the role of test bias, heredity, and family background. It also looks at how and why the gap has changed over the past generation, reviews the educational, psychological, and cultural explanations for the gap, and analyzes its educational and economic consequences. The authors demonstrate that traditional explanations account for only a small part of the black-white test score gap. They argue that this is partly because traditional explanations have put too much emphasis on racial disparities in economic resources, both in homes and in schools, and on demographic factors like family structure. They say that successful theories will put more emphasis on psychological and cultural factors, such as the way black and white parents teach their children to deal with things they do not know or understand, and the way black and white children respond to the same classroom experiences. Finally, they call for large-scale experiments to determine the effects of schools' racial mix, class size, ability grouping, and other policies. In addition to the editors, the contributors include Claude Steele, Ronald Ferguson, William G. Bowen, Philip Cook, and William Julius Wilson. "

A Search for Common Ground

A Search for Common Ground
Author: Frederick M. Hess
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2021
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0807765163

"At a time of bitter national polarization, there is a critical need for leaders who can help us better communicate with one another. Written as a series of back-and-forth exchanges, this engaging book illustrates a model of civil debate between those with substantial, principled differences. It is also a powerful meditation on where 21st-century school improvement can and should go next"--

The Global Achievement Gap

The Global Achievement Gap
Author: Tony Wagner
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2014-03-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0465055966

Despite the best efforts of educators, our nation's schools are dangerously obsolete. Instead of teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, we are asking them to memorize facts for multiple choice tests. This problem isn't limited to low-income school districts: even our top schools aren't teaching or testing the skills that matter most in the global knowledge economy. Our teens leave school equipped to work only in the kinds of jobs that are fast disappearing from the American economy. Meanwhile, young adults in India and China are competing with our students for the most sought-after careers around the world. Education expert Tony Wagner has conducted scores of interviews with business leaders and observed hundreds of classes in some of the nation's most highly regarded public schools. He discovered a profound disconnect between what potential employers are looking for in young people today (critical thinking skills, creativity, and effective communication) and what our schools are providing (passive learning environments and uninspired lesson plans that focus on test preparation and reward memorization). He explains how every American can work to overhaul our education system, and he shows us examples of dramatically different schools that teach all students new skills. In addition, through interviews with college graduates and people who work with them, Wagner discovers how teachers, parents, and employers can motivate the &"net"; generation to excellence. An education manifesto for the twenty-first century, The Global Achievement Gap is provocative and inspiring. It is essential reading for parents, educators, business leaders, policy-makers, and anyone interested in seeing our young people succeed as employees and citizens. For additional information about the author and the book, please go to a href="http://www.schoolchange.org"www.schoolchange.org

Closing the Opportunity Gap

Closing the Opportunity Gap
Author: Prudence L. Carter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2013-04-26
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0199983003

While the achievement gap has dominated policy discussions over the past two decades, relatively little attention has been paid to a gap even more at odds with American ideals: the opportunity gap. Opportunity and achievement, while inextricably connected, are very different goals. Every American will not go to college, but every American should be given a fair chance to be prepared for college. In communities across the U.S., children lack the crucial resources and opportunities, inside and outside of schools that they need if they are to reach their potential. Closing the Opportunity Gap offers accessible, research-based essays written by top experts who highlight the discrepancies that exist in our public schools, focusing on how policy decisions and life circumstances conspire to create the "opportunity gap" that leads inexorably to stark achievement gaps. They also describe sensible policies grounded in evidence that can restore and enhance opportunities. Moving beyond conventional academic discourse, Closing the Opportunity Gap will spark vital new conversations about what schools, parents, educators, and policymakers can and should do to give all children a fair chance to thrive.

The Structure of Schooling

The Structure of Schooling
Author: Richard Arum
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 801
Release: 2015
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1452205426

This comprehensive reader in the sociology of education examines important topics and exposes students to examples of sociological research on schools. Drawing from classic and contemporary scholarship, the editors have chosen readings that examine current issues and reflect diverse theoretical approaches to studying the effects of schooling on individuals and society.

Learning Gap

Learning Gap
Author: Harold Stevenson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 244
Release: 1994-01-26
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0671880764

Compares United States elementary education practices with those in Asia and comes to some surprising conclusions.

The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps

The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps
Author: Jaekyung Lee
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2016
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0190217642

Through the lens of interdisciplinary and systems perspectives, The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps offers an expert critical analysis of the underachievement problems plaguing the American education system today. By providing a blueprint to meet these challenges, Jaekyung Lee both evaluates and informs American educational policies with a new model of achievement for preschool through college-aged students.

Bridging the Gap Between AI and Reality

Bridging the Gap Between AI and Reality
Author: Bernhard Steffen
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 454
Release: 2023-12-13
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 3031460022

This book constitutes the proceedings of the First International Conference on Bridging the Gap between AI and Reality, AISoLA 2023, which took place in Crete, Greece, in October 2023. The papers included in this book focus on the following topics: The nature of AI-based systems; ethical, economic and legal implications of AI-systems in practice; ways to make controlled use of AI via the various kinds of formal methods-based validation techniques; dedicated applications scenarios which may allow certain levels of assistance; and education in times of deep learning.