Letter: Closing the achievement gap

First the school district creates a disparity of educational performance referred to as an achievement gap, (remember grade floors?) and then seeks credit when “progress” is made towards reducing said gap?

Less than 3 months ago the school district provided the following testing imbalance between white and minority students in third- through eighth-grade: 38 percent on the ACT math test and 37.5 percent on English language arts. The SCPASS results indicated 40 percent difference on the science test and 25 percent in social studies.

Now we are advised, “20 Beaufort County schools earn state recognition for student academic achievement.” Where are the statistics showing how many percentage points this self-inflicted gap has been narrowed?

This story was originally published March 13, 2016 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Letter: Closing the achievement gap."