Is There an Expectations Gap? Educational Federalism and the Demographic Distribution of Proficiency Cut Scores

Autor/in	Reed, Douglas S.
Titel	Is There an Expectations Gap? Educational Federalism and the Demographic Distribution of Proficiency Cut Scores
Quelle	In: American Educational Research Journal, 46 (2009) 3, S.718-742 (25 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0002-8312
DOI	10.3102/0002831209340254
Schlagwörter	Federal Legislation; State Standards; Cutting Scores; Benchmarking; Reading Achievement; Mathematics Achievement; School Districts; Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Influences; Poverty; Minority Groups; African American Students; Hispanic American Students; White Students; English (Second Language); At Risk Students; National Assessment of Educational Progress + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Bundesrecht; Leseleistung; Mathmatics sikills; Mathmatics achievement; Mathematical ability; Mathematische Kompetenz; School district; Schulbezirk; Rassenunterschied; Sozioökonomischer Faktor; Armut; Ethnische Minderheit; African Americans; Student; Students; Afroamerikaner; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Hispanic; Hispanic Americans; Hispanoamerikaner; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache
Abstract	Recent analyses of state-level proficiency standards under No Child Left Behind indicate that states' benchmarks for determining whether a child is proficient in reading and math are widely divergent. This article explores whether the capacity of states to employ different proficiency standards imposes different performance standards across demographic groups. Using a newly devised metric that allows for interstate comparison of state-level proficiency cut scores, along with aggregated district-level demographic data, this article provides a descriptive analysis of the distribution of proficiency standards across demographic groups to determine whether some groups systematically face higher or lower proficiency cut scores. The findings indicate that while an "expectations gap" does exist, it does not operate consistently across categories of race, ethnicity, and poverty status. The article concludes by reviewing the trade-offs required under three possible policy responses to these findings. (Contains 3 figures, 6 tables and 6 notes.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10