For those who look at the huge achievement gap in education between whites and ethnic minorities and shrug it off, consider this: A huge chunk of tomorrow’s workforce is flunking out of school. That doesn’t bode well for our economic future – regardless of your color.
Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, and far too many of them are being left behind. Statewide, the dropout rate among Hispanics is 24.7 percent, and 16.9 percent for blacks, according to one study.
New data from the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests show the achievement gap between black and Hispanic students and their white and Asian schoolmates exists in schools all across Colorado, regardless of income level or location. At Cherry Creek High School, 82 percent of white ninth-graders were proficient in writing, while only 41 percent of Latinos could write at grade level. And that’s at one of Colorado’s highest-achieving schools.
The achievement gap isn’t a problem just for ethnic minorities; it’s a problem for everyone who cares about the future of this country and its economic well-being.
Denver Public Schools superintendent Michael Bennet often quotes a July Fortune magazine article titled “Can Americans Compete?” that spells out America’s education problem on a global scale: China will produce about 3.3 million college graduates this year, India 3.1 million (all of them English-speaking), and the U.S. just 1.3 million.
So what are the answers? If a school district somewhere figures out how to quickly close the gap, it could make billions selling the solution. Although no easy, one-size- fits-all solution exists, there are some things districts can try.
Denver’s ProComp plan, on next month’s ballot, is an excellent start. Voters will be asked to approve a $25 mill-levy override to overhaul the way teachers are paid. Teachers will be rewarded for boosting student achievement and can make more money by teaching in low-achieving schools. Getting excellent, innovative teachers into our worst-performing schools, and keeping them there, is an important first step.
Success with a new salary plan in Denver could be a model for other districts.
School boards and superintendents also need to grant more autonomy to their principals, giving them more leverage in hiring and firing and budgeting.
The achievement gap won’t be closed overnight, but it must be at the top of every superintendent’s to-do list.
