Closing the
Racial Achievement Gap:
Black and
Brown Are Always Down
Mr. Matthew Teitter
PS 98M Shorackappock
Introduction:
U.S. students who are African-Americans and Latino consistently underperform academically in comparison to their white and Asian peers. Race has no scientific basis, so certain races are not inherently more or less academically gifted than other races. What is going on here and what can be done?
Task:
Using the six steps of the Public Policy Analyst (PPA), write a 3-page essay that analyzes the nature of the problem above in the U.S. and ends with the selection of the best policy solution.
Process/resources:
1) Your teacher will arrange you into groups of four or five.
2)
Carry out the Public Policy Approach.
a. The problem is the education achievement gap in the United States between Blacks and Latinos in comparison with whites and Asians.
b. You will gather evidence regarding this achievement gap by reading the articles on the websites listed in the resources section. Fill in the “gathering evidence of the problem” worksheet as you read.
c. You will identify causes of this problem as you read these resources. Fill in the “identifying the causes of the problem” worksheet as you read.
d.
Identify, describe, and evaluate one current
public policy in place that is supposed to address this problem. Determine if the
policy needs to be strengthened, reformed, or replaced entirely. Use the “evaluating existing public policies”.
e. In accordance with your previous determination, develop three of your own public policy alternatives using the “developing public policy solutions” worksheet.
f.
Select one of your three original public
policies that would address this problem. Use the effectiveness/feasibility
matrix
3) After carrying out the PPA (Public Policy Approach), use your filled-out worksheets to write a 3-page first-draft of your findings and conclusions regarding the six steps of the PPA.
4) After writing the first draft, share it with a classmate and have them peer edit your work using the rubric that has been provided. You will peer edit for that classmate as well.
5) After receiving the feedback from your classmate, decide on what revision and edits you will make to your draft.
6) Write a final draft and include a list of references that were used.
Resources:
1) Background and statistics
a. http://www.tc.columbia.edu/news.htm?articleID=5183
b. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2079429,00.html
c. http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/achievement-gap/
d. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/NAEP-longterm-Black-math-ss09-09.gif
e. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/NAEP-longterm-Hispanic-math-ss10-09.gif
f. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/NAEP-longterm-Black-reading-ss07-09.gif
g. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/NAEP-longterm-Hispanic-reading-ss08-09.gif
2) Current policies
a. http://k6educators.about.com/od/educationglossary/g/gnclb.htm
b. http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/issues273.shtml
c. http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html
d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_to_the_Top
Evaluation:
The rubric below will be used to evaluate your 3-page essay.
Racial Achievement Gap Essay
|
|
4 - Expert |
3 - Practitioner |
2 - Apprentice |
1 - Novice |
|
Organization |
My writing is well-organized and includes
parts (see process) above and beyond what is required for this essay. |
My writing is organized and includes all of
the parts required for a complete essay. |
My writing is somewhat organized and
includes some of the parts of this essay. |
My writing is disorganized and is missing
most the parts for this essay. |
|
Content
|
My writing gives many rich and
interesting facts, details, and examples. |
My writing gives sufficient rich and
interesting facts, details, and examples. |
My writing gives some interesting
facts, details, and examples. |
My writing gives few or no interesting
facts, details, or examples. |
|
Voice,
tone, and word choice |
My writing always uses specific and relevant
language and vocabulary that increases understanding of the topic. |
My writing uses specific and relevant
language and vocabulary that increases understanding of the topic most of the
time. |
My writing sometimes uses specific and
relevant language and vocabulary that increases understanding of the topic. |
My writing seldom or never uses specific and
relevant language and vocabulary that increases understanding of the topic. |
|
Sentence
fluency and conventions |
All sentences begin
with capitals and end with correct punctuation. All sentences make sense. All spelling is correct. |
Most sentences
begin with capitals and end with correct punctuation. Most sentences make sense. Most spelling is correct. |
Some sentences
begin with capitals and end with correct punctuation. Some sentences make sense. Some spelling is correct. |
Few or no
sentences begin with capitals and end with correct punctuation. Few or no sentences make sense. Few words are spelled correctly. |
|
Accuracy |
All information is accurate and correct,
and it can all be checked in sources. |
The information is accurate and
correct, and most of it can be checked in sources. |
Some of the information is accurate
and correct, but there are some errors.
Only some of it can be checked in sources. |
Little or no information is accurate
and correct, or most or all of the information cannot be checked in sources. |
|
Independence |
I am able to complete the assignment
independently without any help from the teacher. |
I am able to complete most of the
assignment without any help from the teacher. |
I am able to complete some of the
assignment but the teacher often has to help me. |
The teacher needs to help me most or
all of the time. |
Grade Percentage Conversion Guide
|
100% |
4
– 95% or above Expert |
3
– 80% or above Practitioner |
2
– 65% or above Apprentice |
1
– below 65% Novice |
|
Organization
– 20% |
20 |
16 |
13 |
10 |
|
Content
– 20% |
20 |
16 |
13 |
10 |
|
Voice,
tone, and word choice – 10% |
10 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
|
Sentence
Fluency and conventions – 10% |
10 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
|
Accuracy
– 20% |
20 |
16 |
13 |
10 |
|
Independence
– 20% |
20 |
16 |
13 |
10 |
Total -
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Opinion Score_____ Reasons Score_____ Organization Score_____ Voice/Tone Score_____ Sentence fluency Score______ Independence Score _____
Conclusion:
You have looked closely at one of the major problems facing education in the U.S. today: the racial achievement gap. You have analyzed existing policy and determined what changes should be made. Finally, you have come up with a viable alternative that would likely improve the current situation and help solve this persistent and troubling problem.
Possible future task: U.S. educational reform is inconsistent and uneven. Conduct a PPA and write a 3-page essay afterwards.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
