Income, Race, and Achievement Over Time: Comparing the Growth of Academically Advanced Students

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 8
  In Poster Session: Gifted Education, Creativity, and Talent Development Posters

Abstract

Over the last decade, excellence gaps, defined as “differences between subgroups of students performing at the highest levels of achievement,” (Plucker & Peters, 2016, p. ix) have significantly widened. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K) Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 database was used to analyze the research question, “Is there a significant relationship between the year-to-year growth of advanced students and the total growth (kindergarten to grade 8) of advanced students? Results showed support for the hypothesis for the disciplines of reading and mathematics. We found the number of Black and low-income students were less in every circumstance (from the onset to grade 8). The results of this study indicate that gaps exist long before kindergarten.

Authors

• Kathryn Brave, Baltimore County Public Schools

• Mark J. Fenster, Notre Dame of Maryland University