THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP SUMMIT:
NCLB UNDERSCORES CALIFORNIA'S ACHIEVEMENT GAP  

The No Child Left Behind Act’s (NCLB) works to ensure that every child—regardless of race, ethnicity or economic status—receives a high quality education. Narrowing the achievement gap has become a high priority under the law, and in California, educators are determined to take action now. 

The California Department of Education hosted “The Achievement Gap Summit” in Sacramento on November 13-14, where State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell spoke to more than 4,000 educators who convened at the summit. 

“California school leaders debate racial achievement gap” 

Education leaders have accepted for too long the notion that poverty is the main cause of underachievement for certain groups of students and that there is little schools could do about it, the state schools superintendent said Tuesday. 

That attitude, and the assumptions that underlie it, is no longer acceptable in California, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell told thousands of educators who convened for a two-day summit. 

O'Connell called the meeting to address the achievement gap between different groups of students, primarily black and Hispanic students and their white and Asian counterparts. 

He said greater focus on rigorous curriculum has boosted achievement for many students. 

"But the data also clearly shows us that the achievement gap is not closing, nor is it solely based on poverty," he said. "We have a racial achievement gap also." 

The summit comes as state leaders are increasingly focusing on education issues ahead of 2008, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared "The Year of Education." 

Read more in the San Francisco Chronicle >>

Additional news coverage of the Summit: 

• “Educators jam capital to bridge achievement gap,” Ventura County Star
  
  
• “Mind the Gap,” San Francisco Chronicle >> 

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