Closing the Gap
"In 2003, 75 percent of white fourth-graders showed competency in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), compared with 44 percent of Hispanic fourth-graders and 40 percent of Blacks.But race isn't the only issue. If their parents have time-shares and nannies, kids are much more likely to score better than their poor peers. Last year's NAEP scores showed just 45 percent of fourth-graders eligible for free or reduced-price lunch were competent readers, compared with 76 percent of their wealthier classmates.
Then there are the other gaps: girls are better readers than boys, but girls often trail boys in secondary math and science. Special education students, even with testing accommodations, often are outscored by regular classmates."
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