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Solving the Achievement Gap
Our children’s future needs to be a bipartisan issue.
Minnesota High School Graduation Rate 82.2%
Wayzata Public School Graduation Rate 96%
Minneapolis Public School Graduation Rate 66%
U.S. Dept. of Education Finds 6 out of 10 Kids Unprepared for Kindergarten
Mission Statement
Achievement Gap is the disparity in education results between different groups.
The goal of this site is to demystify the Achievement Gap.
There are two opinions on how to provide a solution, Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) and a Scholarship model based on prioritizing impoverished families, by state funding of high-quality daycare.By seeking high-quality research from top universities and non-profits and by looking at the long-term results of UPK we will be able to determine how the state should spend our tax dollars.Informational quotes from both sides:
“Development is a highly interactive process, and life outcomes are not determined solely by genes.”(https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/8-things-remember-child-development/)
“We all know how some children arrive at school, will influence how they do for the rest of their academic careers.”
Dr. Megan Gunnar, Department Chair, Director of the Institute, Regents Professor, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota.
“As reported for more than 10 years by the Minnesota Department of Education, half of Minnesota’s kindergartners are ready for school. Subsidizing them in the name of kindergarten readiness diverts public resources better invested in educating the most at-risk children.”
“State Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius said she’s “super-perplexed that we’re even having a debate.” “I’d like to know their basis for making some of those statements,” she said of the scholarship program’s proponents. “We know that universal pre-K helps all kids.”
The head of the state teachers union Denise Specht argued that free pre-K for all four-year-old and the plan’s requirement that pre-K teachers be state-licensed by 2020 (a predicted 2,849 licensed teachers would be needed) are the best approach to “reducing opportunity gaps in Minnesota.”
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-bank/2015/05/12/minnesota-shows-the-next-front-in-the-universal-preschool-fight
“The oft-touted $16 return for every $1 invested in early education applies only to high-quality programs for at-risk children.”
Dr. Karen Cadigan was the founding director of the Minnesota Office of Early Learning,
By PIONEER PRESS | news@pioneerpress.com
PUBLISHED: March 20, 2015 at 11:01 pm | UPDATED: October 25, 2015 at 10:24 am
There is a very strong correlation between poverty and school performance.
Challenges for Wisconsin, School Finance & Vouchers 9/23/2014
Perhaps the first step is simply educating new parents on their child’s development!
“Indeed, studies show that parents who are knowledgeable about child development are better prepared to support their children’s development. On the other hand, parents with little knowledge are more likely to engage in negative parenting behaviors (e.g., abuse and neglect) that can have harmful long‐term effects on their children’s well-being”
https://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FGReportOnParentKnowledge_ChildTrends-.pdf