The Achievement Gap: Myths and Reality

A Preliminary Study of Disproportionate Representation and Response to Intervention

“…Disproportionality is a complex problem and a host of contributing factors has been cited in the literature to include societal factors, racism in education, classroom management failures, cultural unresponsiveness, varied definitions and implementation of special education, as well as biases in the educational and referral process itself (Armor, 2006;Artiles & Bal, 2008;Artiles & Trent, 1994;Coutinho & Oswald, 2000;Evans, 2005;Farkas, 2003;Harry & Klingner, 2007;Miller & Ward, 2008;Monroe, 2005;Patton, 1998;Singham, 2003;Skiba, Poloni-Staudinger, Simmons, Feggins-Azziz, & Chung, 2005;Warner, Dede, Garvan, & Conway, 2002). The negative implications of disproportionality include curriculum limitations, lower academic achievement, decreased participation in postsecondary education, and decreased employment opportunities for those identified and placed in special education (Patton, 1998).…”

“…Unlike the discrepancy model that assume intrinsic problems lessen a student's ability to learn, RTI practices encourage review of external factors contributing to failure to learn, including instructional practices, methods of learning, home-school relations, individual progress, appropriate assessment measures, new classroom procedures, and the environment (Artiles & Trent, 1994;Cartledge, 2005;Harry & Klingner, 2007). Given the complexity of contributing external factors associated with disproportionality cited in the literature, RTI may be a viable approach for helping to reduce achievement deficits and encourage learning opportunities in African American students (Doughty, 2001;Singham, 2003;Townsend, 2002;Young, Wright, & Laster, 2005). Similarly, RTI principles in theory may be used with most student difficulties because the focus is on providing a tailored intervention to meet specific needs.…”

Critical Inquiry into Urban African-American Students’ Perceptions of Engineering

“…Unfortunately, these advancements have not proven helpful to a diverse body of students (Flores et al 1996). This is particularly true for math and science courses (Singham 2003). Obviously these areas are cornerstones for the discipline of engineering, areas where AfricanAmerican students perform well below their Caucasian counterparts on standardized exams (Singham 2003;Wicklein 2006).…”

“…This is particularly true for math and science courses (Singham 2003). Obviously these areas are cornerstones for the discipline of engineering, areas where AfricanAmerican students perform well below their Caucasian counterparts on standardized exams (Singham 2003;Wicklein 2006). For the field of engineering, attracting more African-Americans is further complicated by a generally negative perception of engineering held by many students (NAE 2008).…”

Causal attributions for success or failure by passing and failing students in college algebra

“…This high enrollment course is considered a potential obstacle to student progress (Gilroy, 2002;Morris, 2002a;Singham, 2003). Although students believe that mathematics is important, the number of students who want to take more mathematics courses is steadily declining (Dossey, Mullis, Lindquist, & Chambers, 1988).…”