Mind the (Other) Gap! The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education

The study examines national and state testing data to explore disparities in performance and rate of improvement among high-achieving students, with respect to the subgroups of race, socio-economic level, gender, and English proficiency. Specifically, it focuses on Math and Reading scores, at Grades 4 and 8. Beyond presenting and interpreting the data, the article also offers hypotheses explaining the results, suggestions for policy changes, as well as some opinions on current policy such as the No Child Left Behind Act.