Bell Policy Center issued a new policy brief this week summarizing recent research on the educational achievement gap.

Rich Jones, the brief's author and Bell's director of policy and research, also points to eight actions that can help Colorado make progress on this persistent problem.

A summary of his findings:

Colorado has a large, persistent achievement gap between students of different racial and economic backgrounds. Asian American and white students and students from middle-income to high-income families consistently score higher on tests measuring academic achievement than do American Indian, black, Hispanic and low-income students.

The Bell's analyses of the achievement gap show the problem is complex. There's no single explanation of its cause and no single recommendation to close it. Research identifying the causes and potential solutions falls into two broad categories:

• Reform schools and education policy
• Improve economic and social well-being of students and their families

Eight actions for closing the achievement gap:

1. Promote economic self-sufficiency
2. Make pre-school available to all kids
3. Keep class sizes small
4. Recruit, retain and reward high-quality teachers
5. Provide better funding for schools serving low-income families
6. Make reading skills a top priority
7. Make schools and districts account for progress in closing the achievement gap
8. Improve post-graduate skills of high school students

To read or download the three-page brief, visit the Bell's website:
www.thebell.org > Policy Watch