Dive Brief:
- Technology can help close achievement gaps, particularly when it's used to increase access to high-quality teachers, real-world experiences, student agency and other sound pedagogical practices.
- Part of providing access is empowering students to take advantage of all the tools put at their disposal, according to a session at the recent CUE 2017 National Conference.
- Student advancement often means opening them up to outside learning opportunities and letting them find new solutions to existing problems.
Dive Insight:
Many proposals have been put forth to close achievement gaps in recent years, but most focus on multiple factors, such as increasing overall rigor of the curriculum, providing additional counseling and other supports to at-risk students, increasing attention on extra-curricular activities and boosting family engagement — all of which has been shown to make a difference in student success.
Perhaps one of the biggest contributing factors to student success is school climate, and researchers have found links between those schools with positive school climates and student achievement, especially in schools serving students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. While the researchers found no single definition of positive school climate they pointed to contributing factors such as safety, student and community engagement as well as well-rounded curriculums that included the arts. Last year, the U.S. Department of Education released new resources aiding schools in improving school climate.