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Health & Fitness

MJLU's Major Finding - There is NO Achievement Gap in Windsor

Did the MJLU study really conclude that there is no achievement gap in Windsor?

The simple answer is no.

Here is the case for yes:

In his presentations on August 29, Dr. James noted that there is no poverty in Windsor.  Page 44 of the report states, "Windsor High does not have high levels of poverty."  

Dr. Villar will be leaving at the end of October to become Executive Director of the Connecticut Council for Educational Reform (CCER).  One of his major tasks will be to "support the implementation of reform initiatives that will narrow the achievement gap in the state of Connecticut."  (What is in quotations is from the job description for his position at http://ctedreform.org/who-we-are/job-postings/ .)  And how does the CCER define the achievement gap:  "The achievement gap is the difference in educational performance between Connecticut’s low-income students and their peers."  (see http://ctedreform.org/whats-the-achievement-gap/ )  You can look up what CCER considers Windsor's achievement gap is at http://ctedreform.org/whats-the-achievement-gap/gap-in-your-district/ .

So what does this prove?  It matters how one defines what the achievement gap is.  The MJLU research team totally ignores poverty (low income and/or low net worth).  (But, at page 44, Table 1, of the report, they indicate that at least
 one quarter of both the 2011 and 2012 cohorts receive free (75%) and reduced (25%) lunches.)  Since 1989, when I worked on one of Windsor's two racial imbalance committees, I have never seen any focus on the achievement gap that did not begin with socio economic status.  So, why did the MJLU research ignore the socio economic backgrounds of the students?  (Just as they ignored the comments of 110 teachers and parents.  Maybe now you can see that those of us who have problems with the quality of the work reflected in the report are not just crying over spilled milk.  We believe that we have identified major flaws in the MJLU EER report.)

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