Have Common Core State Standards and Aligned Assessments Narrowed the Poverty Gap in Mathematics Achievement?

• In Event: Minding the Gap in Accountability Policy Implementation

Abstract

Reducing disparities among historically disadvantaged groups has long been part of the federal policy agenda. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are meant to provide a tool for all teachers to enhance the rigor of their instruction and reduce disparities in the achievement of marginalized groups. Using longitudinal data from 23 diverse districts in California, our research investigates how poverty-related achievement disparities in mathematics in grades 3-8 and 11 have shifted in the transition to the Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBAC) for the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM). Although we found an initial widening of the poverty gap with the implementation of SBAC, the most recently available data suggest that the gap may be narrowing, albeit slowly.

Authors

• Thomas M. Smith, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author

• Cassandra M. Guarino, University of California - Riverside
  Non-Presenting Author

• Yiwang Li, University of California - Riverside
  Presenting Author

• Hana Kang, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs
  Non-Presenting Author

• Anna Emilia Bargagliotti, Loyola Marymount University
  Non-Presenting Author