U.S. education gap narrows between whites and minorities: report

Stephanie Simon:

The achievement gap between white and minority children has narrowed considerably in recent decades, as black and Hispanic students have posted strong gains on math and reading tests, according to a new report out Thursday.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as "the nation's report card," found that minority students at all ages tested - 9, 13 and 17 years old - have made substantial progress on standardized tests since the early 1970s.

Black and Hispanic students made up a third to half of the gulf that had separated their average reading scores from the average scores of white students, the report found. The progress was nearly as good in math.

Proficiency at specific skills also grew over the decades. In math, for instance, 13-year-olds of all races tested in 2012 were far more likely than their counterparts from the 1970s to be proficient at interpreting data from a table and factoring numbers. In reading, 9-year-olds were more adept at making inferences from nonfiction texts and grasping figures of speech.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at June 28, 2013 12:26 AM
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