African American Advisory Committee
State Board of Education addresses achievement gap.
Sacramento, CA – The State Board of Education (SBE) voted 9-0 on Monday to create an African American Advisory Committee (AAAC). The SBE discussed the need to establish this committee to help better understand the issues concerning the achievement gap that exists between African American students and their counterparts.
According to the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) report released last October, California African American tenth-grade students scored substantially lower than White, Asian, and Hispanic students on the English-language arts and mathematics sections of the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE). The 2008 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program results showed that only 33% of African American students scored at proficient and above on the English-language arts section of the examination while only 28% of African American students scored at proficient or above in the mathematics section of the examination.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics completion rate, only 66.4% of California’s African American students graduate from high school. Another rate used by the California Department of Education (CDE) indicates that for the 2006-07 school year, only 57.6 % of African American students graduated, with a dropout rate of 35.8 %.
African Americans account for approximately 8% of the more than six million students attending California public schools, yet nearly 16% receive special education services.
“This board felt the need to create this committee because of these alarming statistics and the undeniable disparity that exists between African American students and their respective counterparts,” said, Greg Jones, Board Member. “We have an achievement gap that is not only unacceptable to the African American students we serve in our schools today but it is unacceptable for the state of California tomorrow.
The AAAC will advise the board about a wide range of issues related to improving the test scores of African American students in California. The Committee will be comprised of distinguished researchers, practitioners, parents, and community members from throughout the state who are knowledgeable about best practices and research related to improving the academic achievement of African American students.
African American students achieve at a different level than White students. Test scores are lower, as are high school and college completion rates, and the number of African Americans attending four-year institutions is falling. The rate of African American suspensions and expulsions from K-12 schools is higher than that of other groups. By almost any metric, there are gaps between African American students and White or Asian students (Latinos achieve at about the same rate as African Americans).
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The high school graduation rate in Los Angeles County for the 2011-12 school year was 74.7 percent, with a dropout rate of 14.9 percent, according to figures released today by the state Department of Education.
The graduation rate was up from 73.7 percent from the previous year, while the dropout rate dipped from 16.7 percent, according to the state.
The second annual Bridging the Achievement Gap Conference was held Nov. 6 at the Palmdale Learning Plaza, and gave administrators, educators, parents, and community members effective strategies to help close the persistent achievement gap.
Black students in Los Angeles are struggling to improve their academic achievement, and there are a number of efforts under way to provide the resources needed to help them succeed.
One such effort is being pushed by Los Angeles Unified School Director Board of Education member Marguerite LaMotte and the others comes from the Coalition for Black Student Equity and the African American Education Alliance.
Legislation approved Tuesday by the Legislative Budget Conference Committee to eliminate the California High School Exit Exam that is expected to go to both houses of the legislature early next week, is eliciting alarm from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell.
O’Connell asked the committee to revisit “this ill conceived decision” and called the action a huge setback for California students.
