Hanover Research: Closing the Achievement Gap

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Executive Summary and Key Findings Section I: Reading and Writing

Key Findings Teaching Practices Student Supports

Section II: Mathematics Key Findings Teaching Practices Student Supports

Section III: Science Key Findings Teaching Practices Student Supports

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Executive Summary: Key Findings (pp. 3 – 5)

Teaching Practices • Interventions can be used to help narrow the achievement

gap for underperforming students in as little as one year. • Schools should focus on reading and writing achievement

early in students’ education to reduce the risk of consistent underperformance in other academic and behavioral metrics.

• In reading and writing in particular, small-group and one-on-one interventions are found to be the most effective for addressing the needs of lower-achieving students.

• Meanwhile, the majority of the rigorous studies that examine the math achievement gap focus on whole-class interventions.

• Technology in science classrooms is disproportionally beneficial for students at the bottom of the achievement gap, especially English language learners.

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Executive Summary: Key Findings (pp. 3 – 5)

Student Supports • Discussion-based lessons can bolster struggling students’

reading comprehension and writing fluency. • Explicit strategy instruction combined with example-based

learning can help narrow the achievement gap in math. • Lower-achieving students benefit the most from inquiry-

based science instruction. • To be most effective, reading and writing teachers should

be provided with supplementary, dedicated training opportunities.

• Professional development for science teachers should focus equally on scientific content/standards and pedagogic practices.

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Section I: Reading and Writing (pp. 6 – 23)

Key Findings • Underperforming students can begin to close the achievement

gap in reading and writing in as little as one year. • Students should receive targeted reading and writing support

as early as possible to reduce the risk of consistent underperformance.

• In reading and writing in particular, small-group and one-on-one interventions are found to be the most effective for addressing the needs of lower-achieving students.

• Discussion-based lessons can bolster struggling students’ reading comprehension and writing fluency.

• Districts can largely employ the same strategies for reading and writing students across both primary and secondary grade levels.

• Reading and writing teachers should be provided with supplementary, dedicated training opportunities.

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Section I: Reading and Writing (p. 23)

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Section II: Mathematics (pp. 24 – 37)

Key Findings • The majority of the rigorous studies that examine the math

achievement gap focus on whole-class, rather than small-group or individual, interventions.

• Explicit strategy instruction combined with example-based learning can help narrow the achievement gap in math.

• Struggling math students may also benefit from solving math problems using a variety of methods.

• Some studies suggest that student-centered environments—either in school or at home—are particularly beneficial for improving and supporting math achievement.

• Unlike reading and writing interventions, interventions for struggling math students are more equally distributed between primary and secondary school settings.

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Section II: Mathematics (p. 32)

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Section III: Science (pp. 38 – 48)

Key Findings • The identified studies largely indicate that science teacher

content knowledge is vital to high-achieving science classrooms.

• Professional development for science teachers should thus focus equally on scientific content/standards and pedagogic practices.

• Lower-achieving students benefit the most from inquiry-based science instruction.

• Technology in science classrooms is disproportionally beneficial for students at the bottom of the achievement gap, especially English language learners.

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Section III: Science (p. 45)

Exploration

★ Choose one section of the research brief (reading, mathematics, science).

★ Scan your section.

★ Share key details with your table group.

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Executive Summary and Key Findings Section I: Subgroups

Socioeconomic Race and Ethnicity Language Background Disability Status

Section II: Profiles Extended Learning Project-Based Learning Career Technical Education Teacher Incentive Curriculum Mapping Community-Building Parent Involvement Cultural Awareness

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Executive Summary and Key Findings (pp. 3 – 4) • Socioeconomic status is a major factor contributing to

student achievement gaps. • Student race/ethnicity, ELL status, and special education

status also account for student achievement gaps. • Strategies for reducing achievement gaps span across

many levels of student support, including the classroom, the school, and the larger community.

• These specific strategies align with the National Education Association’s broader recommendations for closing achievement gaps.

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Section I: Closing The Achievement Gaps for Student Sub-

groups (pp. 5 – 14) • Socioeconomic status. • Race and ethnicity. • Language background. • Disability status.

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Section I: Closing The Achievement Gaps for Student Sub-

groups (pp. 5 – 14)

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Section II: Profiles (pp. 15 – 40)

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap Section II: Profiles (pp. 15 – 40)

Research: Closing the Achievement Gap (p. 16)

Exploration

★Choose one of the profiles (Section II: pp. 15 - 40).

★Scan your section.

★Share key details with your table group.

Achievement Gap: Table Talk

★If our goal is to close the achievement gap, how can we use research to inform our current programs and practices?

★How can this research assist in addressing equity concerns?