In Montgomery schools, achievement gap widens in some areas, drawing criticism - The Washington Post: he achievement gap that separates white and Asian students from black and Latino students has grown wider in Montgomery County in several measures of academic success, according to a report released Tuesday.
The 130-page report points to progress in five of 11 performance indicators in recent years. The school system improved on gaps in school readiness and high school graduation, for example. But disparities widened in advanced-level scores for state math exams in third, fifth and eighth grades. There were mixed results in two categories.
The report, by the County Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight, presents a complex portrait touching on race, disability and income in one of the nation’s higher-performing school systems — and Maryland’s largest. It comes as budget tensions ratchet up in Montgomery, with the achievement gap emerging as a flash point for some elected leaders concerned about groups of students being left behind even as the county spends about 50 percent of its operating budget on the school system.
