What is Achievement Gap

An achievement gap occurs when an educational attainment is higher for one group than for another group, and the difference between the two groups’ outcomes is statistically significant.

Refers to inequitable allocation of opportunities and resources given to marginalized and oppressed student populations creating educational achievement disparities. This results in disproportionate academic attainment within the educational system.

The difference in academic performance between two groups of students.

The difference in levels of learning acquisition, as measured by standardized testing, between identified groups of students.

The difference between the academic performance of students from dominant and subordinate backgrounds.

Imbalance in academic performance between groups of students.

The gap that describes the academic differences between the lowest-performing and highest-performing student within a classroom.

The disparities between different demographic groups of students in academic performance in school as measured by standardized test scores.

An achievement gap occurs when one group of learners outperforms another group and the variance in average scores for the two groups is statistically greater than the margin of error.

For more than 30 years, the 50 states and the District of Columbia have participated in annual testing that is submitted to the U.S. Department of Education to create state-level and national aggregate data around reading, writing, mathematics and science achievement in the fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades. Historically students of Color, urban students, and low-income students have had lower test scores than White students, those in suburban schools, and students from higher income families. Educators continue to develop strategies to impact this gap at the same time social scientists have articulated that educational achievement is not a “deficit gap” but rather a “resource gap.” In addition to innovative practices in school districts and on college campuses, educational attainment must be tied to social strategies that include employment, nutrition, and other related life conditions.

Standardized test score differences of racially minoritized/ financially disadvantaged students and those of their White and Asian peers.

The disparity between the academic performance of white students and other ethnic groups as well as that between English learners and native English speakers; socio-economically disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students; and students with disabilities as compared with students without disabilities (Cronin et.al, 2004).

The difference in academic performance between two groups of students.