Reading, Math Disparities Persist At Capital Region Schools
In the Capital Region's three major cities, school districts continue to see stubborn disparities between black and Hispanic students and their white and Asian peers when it comes to reading and math.
The gap is largest in Albany, where 42 percent of white students passed the state's 2017 English language arts exam compared to 27 percent of Asian students, 16 percent of Hispanic students and 11 percent of black students, according to data released last week. On the math exams, the pattern was similar: 33 percent of white students passed, compared to 26 percent of Asian students, 10 percent of Hispanic students and 7 percent of black students.
The achievement gap is nothing new. Nationwide, numerous studies show that when it comes to test scores, graduation rates and college acceptance rates, every race has seen incremental progress but a large gulf persists between white and Asian students and everyone else — the likely result of generational poverty, segregation and underfunded schools. . .