Overcoming a vexing social divide

The Chapel Hill Carrboro-City School system celebrated an above state average performance when end-of-grade (EOG) testing results were released last week. Unfortunately, the celebration was premature.

The district’s overall performance statistics were misleading because they failed to show alarming achievement gaps that exist between racial subgroups. It is important to note, however, that the CHCCS Board will implement new programs this year to close the gap. 

Results showed that 70.4 percent of students scored at least a 4, meaning they were proficient, on the reading EOG in the district, while statewide only 45.8 percent scored a 4. On the surface, this looks great. But beneath the surface, reading proficiency levels between black and white student subgroups is frightening. The Raleigh News and Observer reported that 85.7 percent of the district’s white students scored at least a 4, while only 31.7 percent of black students scored the same.

The difference between white and black student performance is 54 percentage points, which is much wider than the federally predicted gap. What’s even more distressing is that a federally predicted achievement gap of 30 percentage points even exists.

This shows that the problem is neither new nor unique to Chapel Hill. In 2010, the New York Times published an article about “a social divide extremely vexing to policy makers and the target of one blast school reform after another.” The report described the national crisis and illuminated some possible causes, including differences in early childhood parenting practices and poverty levels.

Fortunately, CHCCS have been aware of this issue for decades and already has an established network of programs to support minorities. The district’s website explains how they are committed to closing the achievement gap through programs like Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), which provides tutoring and extra support for lagging minorities. From efforts like AVID, it will be easier to build even better solutions.

The CHCCS reaction toward the results has funneled hope into a depressing situation. The school system has developed a new 2014-2015 plan to help minority and economically disadvantaged students, taking into consideration a wide range of possible causes. Superintendent Tom Forcella emphasized the need to change the culture of education from the students, parents and teachers’ ends.

“The goal is all kids learning at higher levels,” Forcella said in an interview with Chapel Hill News.

The jaw-dropping numbers haven’t discouraged the school system from finding news ways to close the gap. With a strong-willed spirit and a plan, Chapel Hill and Carrboro can overcome such a “vexing” social divide.