COLUMBUS -Even in Ohio's very best school districts, black students scored consistently lower than whites on the state's new third-grade reading test, according to a review of Department of Education data.
The analysis by The Associated Press found that white students scored higher than black students in 20 of 21 districts with academic ratings of excellent.
Only at Beachwood in suburban Cleveland did black students score higher, with 100 percent passing the new achievement test compared with 98 percent of white students.
In Miamisburg and Northmont in Montgomery County and Worthington in Franklin County, students designated multiracial scored higher than white students.
Only 21 of 117 excellent districts had enough minority students to report test results for both groups.
Statewide, 83 percent of white students passed the third-grade test compared with 57 percent of black students.
In Centerville in suburban Dayton, 94 percent of white third-graders passed the test, compared with 83 percent of black students and 80 percent of multiracial students.
We have attracted more culturally diverse residents in our community -that's good
said Frank DePalma, superintendent of Centerville City Schools in suburban Dayton. But we've also attracted families who have not had the opportunity to provide children the rich type of reading materials at home that other families have had. The kids just aren't exposed to it.
The state has been studying success stories it calls Schools of Promise buildings with a large percentage of poor children who nevertheless achieve high results. In many cases, those schools shape their teaching to the exact needs of their children.
There may be some school districts where they've been able to get great results in their communities historically without having to do that as much simply because they haven't had that diversity
said Joseph Johnson, who oversees the Education Department's efforts to close such gaps.
Factors behind the gap could include fewer opportunities for learning, both at a previous school or at home, he said.
At Olentangy schools in suburban Columbus, the state's fastest-growing district, 90 percent of white students passed the test compared with 77 percent of black students. The district is studying the needs of children struggling to pass the test, while not making assumptions about their abilities, said April Domine, Olentangy's director of continuous improvement.
The gap between minority and white students exists at the beginning of kindergarten, said Ronald Ferguson, a Harvard University researcher who has studied differences in performances by students at Shaker Heights in suburban Cleveland.
Schools can operate in ways that reduce the gap or expand the gap
Ferguson said yesterday.
His research found a number of possible reasons for the gap, from more minority students coming from single-parent households to a smaller percentage of black parents with four years of college.
To address its gap, Shaker Heights -rated an effective district this year -has created tutoring centers, after school and summer programs, and recognized and supported high-achieving black students.
This year, 99 percent of white Shaker Heights third-graders passed the reading test, compared with 72 percent of black children.
Sen. C.J. Prentiss, D-Cleveland, has sponsored legislation requiring the state to study the reasons behind such gaps.
The same legislation also commissioned a study now under way looking at connections between students' race, economic class and academic achievement.
Despite Beachwood's high-scoring minority students in third grade, white students outscored blacks 90 percent to 78 percent on this year's fourth-grade reading test.
It's difficult to compare those scores, since they involve different sets of students, said Christi Burger, principal of Beachwood's Bryden Elementary School.
When we see a kid in the system that needs help
we try to get intervention going right away
she said.
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