Confronting the 'achievement gap' Confronting the 'achievement gap' (December 02, 2005)

When it comes to turning out college-bound students from successful families, the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District is one of the best. Whites and Asians score in the mid to high 800s on statewide tests, easily in range of the area's best schools.

But the district's enrollment also includes 17 to 24 percent Hispanic students who chronically turn in test results that, on average, can be more than 200 points below whites and Asians. And although there has been occasional improvement, overall API test results this year are down seven points from last year and are only two points higher than 2003 at Los Altos High. At Mountain View High, API results are up 52 points in the last four years, although Hispanics trail whites and Asians by 150 points or more.

This "achievement gap" sparked a major discussion among principals and district administrators at a recent annual review, when the district takes an unvarnished look at its performance in all categories and formulates plans to improve, if necessary.

During the assessment, one principal surmised that the vast majority of her school's resources are being accessed by the top achievers, while students struggling with English are ignored. In other words, virtually all the school's resources are directed to successful students, most of whom will enter college.

And the big question, raised by some school officials, is whether the district is willing to shift resources from the elite and more numerous whites and Asians to provide a more productive learning experience for the underserved Hispanic students.

This is the question facing many California schools that are coping with diverse student bodies which frequently outnumber Asians and whites. But the idea of taking away anything from the best students to better serve those lacking English skills, for example, was not met with open arms -- at least not from all of the school board trustees, such as Phil Faillace, who said high-achieving students are the children of taxpayers too, and equally deserve the school's attention and resources.

The MVLA district is one of the few in the area to be so public and self-critical of its performance. With supportive trustees and administrators, the district's principals and other administrators feel comfortable in sharing their highs and lows. It is an enlightened policy that we hope will focus a lot more attention on ways to improve every student's test scores, even if some groups might have to do with slightly fewer resources.

We agree with school officials who say they can no longer accept business as usual, i.e. ignoring the 20 percent or more of the student body who are not succeeding. It may not be easy, but our school district can do better.

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