The Hispanic-White Achievement Gap in Math and Reading in the Elementary Grades

This article describes the developmental patterns of Hispanic-White math and reading achievement gaps in elementary school, paying attention to variation in these patterns among Hispanic subgroups. Compared to non-Hispanic White students, Hispanic students enter kindergarten with much lower average math and reading skills. The gaps narrow by roughly a third in the first 2 years of schooling but remain relatively stable for the next 4 years. The development of achievement gaps varies considerably among Hispanic subgroups. Students with Mexican and Central American origins—particularly first- and second-generation immigrants—and those from homes where English is not spoken have the lowest math and reading skill levels at kindergarten entry but show the greatest achievement gains in the early years of schooling.

[1]  William J. Hussar,et al.  The Condition of Education , 2010 .

[2]  Dale Ballou,et al.  Test Scaling and Value-Added Measurement , 2009, Education Finance and Policy.

[3]  Helen F. Ladd,et al.  Handbook of Research in Education Finance and Policy , 2008, Education Finance and Policy.

[4]  D. Cohn,et al.  English Usage among Hispanics in the United States. , 2007 .

[5]  Sean F. Reardon,et al.  Patterns and Trends in Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Academic Achievement Gaps , 2007 .

[6]  Rebecca M. Callahan.  Educating English Language Learners: A Synthesis of Research Evidence, F. Genesee, K. Lindholm-Leary, W.M. Saunders, D. Christian (Eds.). Cambridge University Press (2006), 245 pp., ISBN: 0-521-67699-1 , 2007 .

[7]  K. Mccartney,et al.  Understanding Trends in the Black-White Achievement Gaps during the First Years of School , 2006 .

[8]  Dohoon Lee,et al.  Making it in America: High school completion by immigrant and native youth , 2006, Demography.

[9]  Helen F. Ladd,et al.  The Academic Achievement Gap in Grades 3 to 8 , 2006, The Review of Economics and Statistics.

[10]  Stephanie Hatheway,et al.  Class and Schools - Using Social, Economic, and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap , 2006 .

[11]  Barbara Schhneider,et al.  Barriers to Educational Opportunities for Hispanics in the United States , 2006 .

[12]  R. Rumberger,et al.  Preschool Participation and the Cognitive and Social Development of Language-Minority Students. CSE Technical Report 674. UC LMRI Technical Report. , 2006 .

[13]  Donald A. Rock,et al.  Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998?99 (ECLS-K). Psychometric Report for the Fifth Grade. NCES 2006?036. , 2005 .

[14]  Karen Tourangeau,et al.  Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K). Fifth-Grade Methodology Report. NCES 2006-037. , 2005 .

[15]  G. Duncan,et al.  Can Family Socioeconomic Resources Account for Racial and Ethnic Test Score Gaps? , 2005, The Future of children.

[16]  A. Stenner,et al.  Assessment Issues in the Testing of Children at School Entry , 2005, The Future of children.

[17]  Steven D. Levitt,et al.  The Black-White Test Score Gap Through Third Grade , 2005 .

[18]  D. Neal,et al.  Why Has Black-White Skill Convergence Stopped? , 2005 .

[19]  R. Rumberger,et al.  Understanding and Addressing the California Latino Achievement Gap in Early Elementary School , 2004 .

[20]  Nicole Stoops,et al.  Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003. Population Characteristics. Current Population Reports. P20-550. , 2004 .

[21]  George Farkas,et al.  The Black-White Test Score Gap , 2004 .

[22]  Grace S Kao,et al.  Racial and Ethnic Stratification in Educational Achievement and Attainment , 2003 .

[23]  Julie Maxwell-Jolly,et al.  English Learners in California Schools: Unequal resources, unequal outcomes , 2003 .

[24]  R. Michael Alvarez,et al.  Schools and Educational Outcomes: What Causes the “Race Gap” in Student Test Scores?* , 2003 .

[25]  J. Hook,et al.  Diversity and change in the institutional context of immigrant adaptation: California schools 1985–2000 , 2002, Demography.

[26]  David T. Burkam,et al.  Inequality at the Starting Gate: Social Background Differences in Achievement as Children Begin School , 2002 .

[27]  Virginia P. Collier,et al.  A National Study of School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students' Long-Term Academic Achievement , 2002 .

[28]  Donald A. Rock,et al.  Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K): Psychometric Report for Kindergarten through First Grade. Working Paper Series. , 2002 .

[29]  Steven D. Levitt,et al.  Understanding the Black-White Test Score Gap in the First Two Years of School , 2002, Review of Economics and Statistics.

[30]  R. Henson.  Understanding Internal Consistency Reliability Estimates: A Conceptual Primer on Coefficient Alpha , 2001 .

[31]  Amado M. Padilla,et al.  Academic Performance of Immigrant and U.S.-Born Mexican Heritage Students: Effects of Schooling in Mexico and Bilingual/English Language Instruction , 2001 .

[32]  James J. Heckman,et al.  The Dynamics of Educational Attainment for Black, Hispanic, and White Males , 2001, Journal of Political Economy.

[33]  Betsy Guzman,et al.  The Hispanic Population. Census 2000 Brief. , 2001 .

[34]  Geoffrey D. Borman,et al.  Advancing Minority High Achievement: National Trends and Promising Programs and Practices , 2000 .

[35]  Gary Orfield,et al.  Resegregation in American Schools. , 1999 .

[36]  A. Winsler,et al.  When learning a second language does not mean losing the first: bilingual language development in low-income, Spanish-speaking children attending bilingual preschool. , 1999, Child development.

[37]  Lingxin Hao,et al.  Parent-Child Differences in Educational Expectations and the Academic Achievement of Immigrant and Native Students. , 1998 .

[38]  J. Crawford.  Best Evidence: Research Foundations of the Bilingual Education Act. NCBE Report. , 1997 .

[39]  K. Frank,et al.  The Metric Matters: The Sensitivity of Conclusions About Growth in Student Achievement to Choice of Metric , 1994 .

[40]  A. Portes,et al.  Language and the Second Generation: Bilingualism Yesterday and Today 1 , 1994 .

[41]  Alan L. Ginsburg,et al.  The Effect of Language Background on Achievement Level and Learning among Elementary School Students. , 1983 .

[42]  L. Suter.  Educational Attainment in the United States: March 1977 and 1976. Current Population Reports, Population Characteristics, Series P-20, No. 314. , 1977 .

[43]  M. R. Novick,et al.  Statistical Theories of Mental Test Scores. , 1971 .

[44]  R. W. Fairlie,et al.  CHAPTER 5 Technology and Education : Computers , Software , and the Internet , 2016 .

[45]  Sarah R. Crissey.  Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007. , 2009 .

[46]  S. H. Murdock,et al.  Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States, 2008. , 2009 .

[47]  L. Tesar,et al.  Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Black-White Test Score Gap , 2007 .

[48]  Melissa Lazarín,et al.  Hispanic Education in the United States , 2007 .

[49]  E. Hanushek,et al.  School Quality and the Black-White Achievement Gap , 2006 .

[50]  Andrew Dean Ho,et al.  Metric-Free Measures of Test Score Trends and Gaps with Policy-Relevant Examples. CSE Report 665. , 2006 .

[51]  James P. Smith.  Immigrants and Their Schooling , 2006 .

[52]  M. Tienda,et al.  Hispanics and the Future of America , 2006 .

[53]  Derek A. Neal.  Chapter 9 Why Has Black–White Skill Convergence Stopped? , 2006 .

[54]  Elvira Germino Hausken,et al.  Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) Psychometric Report for the Third Grade , 2005 .

[55]  Richard Rothstein,et al.  Class and schools , 2004 .

[56]  Bernadette D. Proctor,et al.  Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2003 , 2004 .

[57]  H. Waxman,et al.  Educating Hispanic Students: Obstacles and Avenues to Improved Academic Achievement. Educational Practice Report 8. , 2002 .

[58]  Carol L. Schmid,et al.  Educational Achievement, Language-Minority Students, and the New Second Generation , 2001 .

[59]  Phillip Kaufman,et al.  Dropout Rates in the United States: 2000. , 2001 .

[60]  Larry V. Hedges,et al.  Changes in the black-white gap in achievement test scores , 1999 .

[61]  David W. Grissmer,et al.  Why did the Black–White score gap narrow in the 1970s and 1980s? , 1998 .

[62]  Greg J. Duncan,et al.  Family background, parenting practices, and the Black–White test score gap. , 1998 .

[63]  A. Portes.  The new second generation , 1996 .

[64]  N. Zill.  Approaching Kindergarten: A Look at Preschoolers in the United States. Public Policy Report. , 1995 .

[65]  G. Roland.  Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence , 1994 .

[66]  Ronald W. Henderson,et al.  Mathematics and Middle School Students of Mexican Descent: The Effects of Thematically Intergrated Instruction , 1992 .

[67]  Thomas M. Smith,et al.  The Condition of education , 1975 .

[68]  D. Lichter,et al.  National Poverty Center Working Paper Series Poverty and Economic Polarization among America's Minority and Immigrant Children Poverty and Economic Polarization among America's Minority and Immigrant Children Poverty and Economic Polarization among America's Minority and Immigrant Children Poverty a , 2022 .