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Monson's Achievement Gap Analysis

Decent Essays

It’s expected for students to fall back academically during summer break. This is typically the norm for students have three months off. What about the time students spend in the classroom? Every year there are students who fall behind academically during the school year. Sub-cultured students are the ones at high risk. The achievement gap is identified as the disparity in academic growth between groups of students (Achievement Gap, 2011). For this in-depth look into the achievement gap, Monson’s identified as the rural district, Brockton as urban, and Norwood as suburban. Monson is a rural town located in Hampden County. The 2010 census reported Monson’s total population of 8,560. On June 1, 2011, downtown Monson was hit with a tornado. The …show more content…

Those who are currently teaching are required to take a course called Rethinking Equity and Teaching English Language Learners (RETELL) or Secondary English Language (SEI) course so they can be better prepared to teach the students of other primary languages. The data from the ELL students in the three districts are more dramatic than percentages of students with disabilities. Compared to Norwood and Brockton’s ELL student population, Monson only had 7 ELL students in their district in 2016. When comparing the ELA, math, and science scores for all three towns, Monson didn’t even have sufficient data to record. Norwood and Brockton however, had interesting data to compare. In ELA, Norwood scored higher than Brockton with a percentage of 41 and Brockton at 13 percent for students who performed with high proficiency. In math, Norwood had a 40 percent higher academic standing, whereas Brockton only had 15 percent. Both Monson and Brockton ELL students performed below the achievement gap goal with negative scores. Norwood, however, performed above the state level for all three subjects. There was no data found in the scoring of ELL students in Monson for MCAS scores. Out of the 5th grade ELL students in Norwood, who participated in the MCAS, 6 scored in above average, 31 percent scored in proficient, 50 percent scored needs improvement, and 13 percent scored as failing. …show more content…

The high rise in homeless is partly due to the recent recession. Consequently, the recession left many household members without jobs and unable to pay for living expenses such as rent or a mortgage. Districts are aware of the crisis and are aware of the responsibility to fill the academic gap within the low-income population. All three districts have high numbers of economically disadvantaged students. According to the 2014 reports, Monson had 319 out of 1,160 students from a low-income household, Brockton had 13,722 out of 17,011, and Norwood had 997 out of 3,471 students. When looking at the achievement gap, it was no surprise that Norwood once again meets all the targets for filling in the gap. In the area of ELA, Norwood’s low-income students meet the gap 6.4 points above the target, 3.8 points above the math target, and 7.2 points above the science target. Brockton was below the achievement gap in all areas. In ELA, low-income students were points below the target, -5.0 in math, and -3.8 in science. Monson’s low-income students were able to fill the gap in ELA and math with points above the targets. Students, who are low-income in Monson, had a 5 percent score proficient on the MCAS, 55 percent scored needs improvement, and 40 percent failed. Compared to Norwood’s low-income 5 graders whom had a 6 percent

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