CREATE is dedicated to closing the achievement gap between culturally diverse students and their peers.  Closing this achievement gap is a “moral and social justice issue” and “an economic imperative for our state and nation,” according to Former State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster.

Measuring the Achievement Gap

WKCE Exams - All Students

Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations (WKCE) scores from 2007 clearly show an achievement gap and the need for focused efforts to eliminate it. 

While a high percentage of white students from all grades combined scored at a level considered either proficient or advanced in both reading and math, students of other cultures lagged.

ACT Scores

2008 ACT test results in Wisconsin show students of different cultures enter college on uneven educational ground, leaving many of them unprepared for the challenges of higher learning and entering the workforce.

And while Wisconsin students of color performed better overall than the national average for their cultural grouping, Wisconsin’s Asian students fell below the national average for their cultural group. 
 

As these numbers show, the achievement gap is substantial, and such an educational divide threatens to have long-term consequences for individuals, their families and our nation.

Until no gaps in achievement remain between students of color and their peers, many of Wisconsin’s students will be ill prepared to achieve their greatest potential as adults. 

Turning the Numbers Around

We can turn these numbers around. With increased awareness and efforts to close the achievement gap, an encouraging trend is emerging.

Recent figures based on standardized test scores suggest the gap is shrinking for some racial/ethnic groups, yet it’s clear more work is required. An achievement gap analysis of all student results by racial/ethnic group for the WKCE in 2008 showed:

• the gap narrowing by two percentage points in mathematics between white students and American Indian and black students over the previous three-year period.
• improvements in reading among Hispanic students, who closed the gap by two percentage points; and Asian students, who gained a percentage point. Yet, achievement gaps were unchanged for black students, and actually widened by a percentage point for American Indian students.

For more information on how your district has performed in standardized testing, go to: http://dpi.wi.gov/sig/index.html and click on “data analysis.”