Achievement gap narrows as attitudes change

The facts are right there, in black and white: If you're an African-American student going to public school in America today, education is more likely to be a struggle than an opportunity.

In what some say is a lingering effect from Jim Crow days, it's still true that, on average, American white kids - no matter from what socioeconomic strata they hail - score higher on standardized tests, drop out of school at lower rates, and go to college at higher rates than their black counterparts.

Durham, N.C., is the city that coined the phrase "keep your eyes on the prize," the civil rights-era call to desegregate society, primarily through the schools. But now, something altogether revolutionary is happening here: A few changes in the very "slum schools" that were once considered unfixable are having profound results. Black students' test scores have improved dramatically, and the dropout rate is dropping.

Experts say the evolution in Durham illustrates not just the problems inherent in closing the so-called achievement gap, but the kind of subtle social changes that are making improvements possible.

Indeed, new reforms here and around the United States have less to do with busing students to different neighborhoods and more to do with ensuring higher standards right where they are.

The education bill passed by the US House last week and expected to be approved by the Senate this week, requires schools to adopt plans to close racial and income-based achievement gaps.

Schools already take a variety of approaches, making sure, for instance, that all second-graders are reading up to snuff, that high-schoolers have a math class every day, and that minorities have a fair shot at making it into advanced classes.

In Durham, such efforts have led to inner-city students of African descent making a leap in both reading and math skills. Today, 9 out of 10 black second-graders can read "at or above grade level"; their enrollment in "academically gifted" classes has risen 83 percent since 1998; the number of dropouts was down to 362 in 2000-01, from 532 in 1999-00; and suspensions went down 39 percent in a year. In addition, the gap in SAT scores between whites and blacks has been closed by 10 points since last year.

With its fervent black involvement in local affairs, a strong history of civil rights, and a determination to adopt pragmatic reforms that don't cost a lot of money, this hilly Piedmont city is a beacon of hope, says Duke sociologist Claudia Buchmann.

"The achievement gap is closing, and, in some places like Durham, it's closing rapidly," she says.

The trend - in cities ranging from Dayton, Ohio, to Elizabeth City, N.C., is mostly the result of changing attitudes among parents, teachers, and other community members, education experts say. In Dayton, some black leaders have called for an end to busing and for fresh resources to be sent to the inner-city schools. Even the federal courts now tut-tut busing reform.

In Raleigh, N.C., a report released earlier this month identified "attitude" as the most important instigator of real change. What's more, the school-choice movement in many districts throughout the country has energized parents to take a more substantial role in shaping local school policy.

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