There is a large gap in the achievement levels among top U.S. students in different socioeconomic subgroups according to a new research study.
Progress has been made in bringing a larger proportion of students to a basic level of educational achievement, but has this been done at the expense of higher achieving students?
The report, Mind the Other Gap! The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education, concludes that closing the “excellence gap” and making excellence a focus needs to become a national priority.
The goal of guaranteeing that all pupils will have the opportunity to reach their academic potential is called into question, says the report, if educational policies assist only struggling students, while the needs of others, such as high-achieving students, are not addressed.
Appropriate interventions need to be identified and researched for their effectiveness. Finding effective, easy-to-use strategies to differentiate classroom instruction will be part of the solution to this problem.
Merit’s process writing programs have a strong track record of helping students with a wide span of abilities reach their academic potential.
Paragraph Punch and Essay Punch are self-paced, self-advancing writing tutorials. Students receive built-in tips and step-by-step suggestions while they work.
Struggling students benefit greatly from the personalized and intensive support in the Punch writing programs.
Advanced pupils are engaged through suggestions for strengthening communication skills, such as encouraging them to add more ideas on a topic and giving them opportunities to edit, revise, and refine their writing.
When writing with the Punch programs, students of a wide range of abilities are able to experience success.
The complete Mind the Gap report is on the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy web site.