Closing the academic achievement gap is one of the most complex challenges that school system leaders face. Closing the gap became even more urgent with the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act. For the first time, the federal government has set a deadline for closing the gap, requiring schools to bring all students to proficient levels of academic performance in twelve years. How much of the achievement gap can be attributed to what school districts themselves may be doing? What factors and conditions impede progress toward closing the achievement gap? And what can superintendents do to narrow as much of the gap as they can? These questions led to the development of this guide. In Changing Policies to Close the Achievement Gap Cynthia Prince identifies state and local policies that tend to make the achievement gap worse and describes policy changes that superintendents have made with the support of their boards to help narrow the gap. She also examines policies that aggravate the inequitable distribution of quality teachers and principals, that restrict student access to challenging coursework, and that reduce academic instruction time. Prince argues that closing the gap will require serious efforts to change these policies and other conditions that impede the ability of school districts to bring all students to high levels of performance.

About the Author
Cynthia D. Prince conducted the research in this book for the American Association of School Administrators, where she served as Issues Analysis Director. She is currently the director of Teacher Professional Development for the Council of Chief State School Officers. Previous positions held include coordinator of program evaluation for the Connecticut State Department of Education; chief of research, evaluation, and statistical services for the Maryland State Department of Education; and associate director for analysis and reporting for the National Education Goals Panel in Washington, D.C. Her primary research interests are education and language policy, first- and second-language acquisition, and teacher and principal quality.

Reviews
Prince...identifies state and local policies that widen achievement disparity and describes policy changes that superintendents have made with the support of their boards to help narrow the gap. * Reference and Research Book News *
...explores state and local policies that tend to increase achievement disparity. * Educational Research *



Book Information
ISBN 9781578861200
Author Cynthia D. Prince
Format Paperback
Page Count 112
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield Education
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 181g
Dimensions(mm) 227mm * 153mm * 11mm