Achievement gaps: Is a key Kentucky legislator finally getting it?
Rep. Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort, chairman of the Kentucky House of Representative's Education Committee and co-chairman of the Interim Joint Committee on Education, is worried.
Graham addressed his concerns about the Bluegrass State's chronic education-achievement gaps to colleagues during the Nov. 17 meeting of the Kentucky Legislature’s Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee.
Graham says the legislature needs to act, and we agree.
However, Graham until now has refused to consider some of the most promising ideas to address these gaps, including school-choice options like charter schools. Despite growing evidence that charter schools are particularly beneficial to minority students -- as demonstrated by these great stories from Atlanta and New Orleans -- Chairman Graham has blocked consideration of charters and other choice programs in his House Education Committee.
As Graham notes, time is running out. Kentucky in April celebrated the 25th anniversary of passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA). Despite the massively increased funding and attention that KERA brought to the commonwealth's traditional public-school system, the gaps remain a serious problem a quarter-century later, and Graham knows it.
And, as recent test results such as those from the EXPLORE and PLAN testing in Kentucky show, the gaps are getting worse.
It does seem like Chairman Graham has been reading the Bluegrass Institute's material about the gaps.
In his recorded comments above, he noted that some of the worst gaps can be found in some of the supposedly top-performing schools, including those rated as “Distinguished Schools” by the state’s Unbridled Learning public school accountability system. We have pointed this problem out for several years in blogs and publications such as our 2012 update in our “Blacks Falling Through Gaps” examinations of Louisville area schools.
For example, we noted in our 2012 report of two Louisville area public schools:
Norton and Brandeis elementary schools posted incredibly large white minus black math proficiency rate gaps of more than 51 percentage points in 2012. Nevertheless, both schools were recognized as a “School of Distinction.”
Imagine that! Unbridled Learning not only rated both schools as “Distinguished Schools,” but both schools also got the even higher title of “School of Distinction!” This is the kind of “stuff” that obviously concerns Chairman Graham a whole lot, as well it should.
Still, it remains to be seen if he's really serious about supporting policies that actually close the gaps.
After 25 years of failed promises regarding the gaps from the traditional public schools in Kentucky, only the most unreasonable person would fail to see that traditional schools are unlikely ever to fix this problem -- no matter how much money is thrown at them. It's clearly time to think outside of the traditional school box. In the past, Graham has been incredibly resistant to such out-of-the box ideas as charter schools and other school choice options. But the continuing gaps indicate it's clearly time for him to reconsider.
Otherwise, with a demonstrated 25-year history of failure in the traditional public schools in Kentucky, the achievement gaps will probably just continue, insuring those dire consequences Graham is worried about such as more lost time, adverse economic impacts and continuing unequal opportunity.
Mr. Chairman, the legislature goes back into session in January. You now have a charter-friendly governor and Senate to work with. If this problem continues, it's going to be your problem. And, as you so well stated, we are losing more time for Kentucky’s minority kids every day that we delay.
So what are you waiting for?