Montgomery County Council to Revisit the Achievement Gap Among Students

The council’s Office of Legislative Oversight last examined the gap in 2008.

Montgomery County Council to Revisit the Achievement Gap Among Students

The council’s Office of Legislative Oversight last examined the gap in 2008.

  Montgomery County legislative analysts are preparing to deliver an update next month on how Montgomery County Public Schools have spent the past five years addressing the achievement gap, The Gazette reported this week.  The County Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight is set to release the report on the performance gap between white and Asian students and their black and Hispanic classmates on Feb. 26, The Gazette reported. Click here to read the full article in The Gazette. The report will examine the school system’s progress in narrowing gaps in performance on standardized tests and on other measures, such as suspension, graduation and drop-out rates and completion of career and technology education programs, according to a …

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MCPS Achievement Gap Shrink Noted at National Conference

A University of Chicago professor said a change in culture, not curriculum, was key.

  Montgomery County Public Schools was singled out at a recent national conference on high school reform for taking steps to close the achievement gap between races, according to US News & World Report. A professor at the University of Chicago noted the system had succeeded in lifting up scores for black and Hispanic students. Charles Payne, professor and affiliate of the university's Urban Education Institute, said MCPS narrowed the achievement gap—in which black and Latino students have lower test scores than their white and Asian classmates—at all grade levels by moving the best teachers to underserved schools.  "There are some groups of African-American and Hispanic students who, when they get a different caliber of teachers, can turn …

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Record Enrollment, Tight Budgets Leave Montgomery Schools Facing Tough Challenges

Montgomery County Public Schools is one of the most diverse districts in the nation. Despite a record of academic excellence, success isn't achieved equally among students.

It's been a year of upheaval for Montgomery County Public Schools. The district gained a new superintendent, hit record-high enrollment and took millions in cuts on its proposed 2012 budget. Montgomery Schools face many pressing issues, but if the "Listen and Learn" tour is any indicator of which the district will prioritize, changing demographics, better community engagement, and a focus on the achievement gap are issues likely near the top of Superintendent Joshua Starr's list. "It's a tough issue and schools are doing their best to address it," said Laurie Halverson, PTA vice president of educational issues. "If you look at the budget, you can see what they're spending, and when you look at budgets of schools that are Title I schools, […

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