Dive Brief:
- New York City's Renewal Schools are fervently working to close proficiency gaps between the students they serve — many of which are dealing with housing instability and other effects of poverty — and the overall population, the latter of which has proficiency levels that are still lower than educators would like, The New York Times reported.
- By bringing in academic coaches to help students who are either right on the cusp of the next level up or who are in danger of falling back a level on the next test, and by incentivizing attendance at Saturday study sessions, schools are making a push to help bring their students' performance up.
- Some say judging a school or teacher by the proficiency rate of students completely discounts any progress which has been made, since in many cases, students are promoted to the next grade without mastering the competencies of previous grades.
Dive Insight:
According to a 2013 demographic report, 41.2% of students in New York City speak a language other than English, and language barriers and cultural differences have proven to impact minority student performance on standardized tests. Teachers in these schools say students verbally articulate their ideas well, but writing the ideas proves challenging, suggesting comprehension or intelligence are not the reasons these students are not performing as well on the tests.
Along with the language barrier, school officials also must consider the impact of various indicators of poverty on student learning. If the students are hungry or if they're leaving the school to go to a shelter, or even to an overcrowded home or bouncing between homes, it may be difficult for students to focus on academic tasks. While teachers and school administrators are not social workers and cannot be expected to address all of the various issues facing students, they can make an effort to reach out to other community pillars including churches, barber shops and community centers to not only better relate to their students, but to solicit additional help in promoting student success.
Research shows that education of children is a top priority for most people, regardless of their own educational attainment levels, and they're willing to help. When educators make an effort to reach the communities in which their students live, they're showing they're really interested in the success of those students, and showing they're not above meeting the students where they are. For some parents and community members, especially those who may not have achieved high levels of education, this is critical to bridging the gap and overcoming any sense of intimidation which may lead to disengagement.