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Front Line Teachers Challenge Public Perception of Achievement Gap: Teachers, School Leadership and Expectations of Students Seen As Key

Posted on: Thursday, 3 November 2005, 12:00 CST

NEW YORK, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- A report released today by Teach For America finds that teachers in low-income communities cite teachers, school leadership, and expectations of students as key causes of -- and solutions to -- the academic achievement gap that exists along socio-economic and racial lines. The results of the study directly challenge the public perception of the problem.

"Equity Within Reach: Insights from the Front Lines of America's Achievement Gap" is based on a June 2005 survey of 2,000 Teach For America teachers -- or corps members -- teaching in urban and rural public schools across the country. In addition to identifying teachers, principals and expectations of students as critical to closing the gap, corps members also raised concerns over the public's understanding of the problem, its causes and potential solutions. Citing their beliefs that the public misplaces the blame on students and parents, and is unaware of the existence or extent of the achievement gap or of the realities of poverty and segregation, 98 percent of corps members asserted that the public had an inaccurate understanding of the achievement gap. A recent Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll showed that the general public points to lack of parental involvement, home life and upbringing, and lack of interest on the part of students themselves as the three most important factors in creating the gap. Corps members' beliefs were in direct conflict.

"For years in our country, there has been a debate about whether schools can impact student achievement levels in low-income communities in the face of the effects of poverty. In that context, it is so powerful to hear the perspectives of teachers who are working on the front lines in urban and rural areas across the country. Their experiences tell us that it is within the control of our school systems and our country to develop educational environments that enable children growing up in low-income areas to achieve academically," said Wendy Kopp, president and founder of Teach For America. "What these teachers are telling us -- which seems particularly relevant given the national discussion about poverty in our country -- is that a sustained commitment to expanding educational opportunity has the potential to break the cycle of poverty."

Teachers, Principals, and Expectations Are Key

While the topics in the survey are complex, and corps members' responses reflected that complexity, clear patterns emerged from the data. In identifying the key causes of and solutions to the academic achievement gap, corps members overwhelmingly pointed to the importance of teacher effectiveness, school leadership and the critical role of high academic expectations for students as top factors. Corps members placed much less emphasis on a number of areas widely viewed as critical to the achievement gap, including access to healthcare, nutrition, violence, and substance abuse. They pointed instead to factors within schools -- those things over which educators have control -- as mattering most in closing the achievement gap.

Of the top five factors corps members cited as causes of the achievement gap, three focus specifically on expectations of students -- from their schools, from their families, and from the students themselves. In identifying solutions to the gap, Teach For America corps members called for a stronger and more widespread belief in the potential of students in low-income students to succeed academically.

Realizing Students' Potential

Teach For America corps members expressed their own strong belief in the academic potential of students in low-income communities regardless of their background or prior achievement. Ninety-one percent maintained that public schools should expect inner-city students to achieve academic standards that are as high as those held for students from wealthier backgrounds; sixty-eight percent disagreed with the statement "Students who don't have basic skills by middle school will never be able to catch up"; and 72 percent felt that schools expect far too little academically from students. The survey also found that belief in the ability of students to meet high expectations increased as teachers spent more time in the classroom.

The Perception Gap

The survey also reveals the belief held by almost all corps members that the public has a basic misunderstanding of why students in low-income communities fare worse than those in higher income communities. These findings are striking when compared against the report, "Phi Delta Kappa (PDK)/Gallup Poll on the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools," released in September 2005. This annual report, which focuses on the public's views regarding issues related to public schools, points to lack of parental involvement, home life and upbringing, and lack of interest on the part of the students themselves as the three most important factors for the existence of the achievement gap. Seventy-eight percent of those polled believed that white students and students of color had the same educational opportunities within their communities.

For a copy of "Equity Within Reach: Insights from the Front Lines of America's Achievement Gap" please visit: http://www.teachforamerica.org/documents/equitywithinreach.pdf

About Teach For America

Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. Currently, 3,500 corps members are teaching in over 1,000 schools in 22 regions across the country; and more than 10,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity. For more information, visit http://www.teachforamerica.org/.

Teach For America

CONTACT: Todd McGovern of Teach For America, +1-212-279-2080 x124,todd.mcgovern@teachforamerica.org

Web site: http://www.teachforamerica.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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