Article
Two Models of Learning and Achievement: An Explanation for the Achievement Gap?
Teachers College Record
(2015)
Abstract
Background/Context: Despite decades of research, the persistence of the gap in student
achievement between disadvantaged minority students and their middle-class peers remains
unexplained.
Purpose/Objective: The purpose of the current article is to propose a new model of the achievement
gap.
Research Design: Data were analyzed from three nationally representative data sets: The
Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of the Kindergarten Class of 1998–1999 (ECLS-K),
the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS), and the Education Longitudinal
Study of 2002 (ELS).
Findings/Results: The achievement gap may be explained as a consequence of the conventional
structure of schooling and the failure to individualize task difficulty and provide performance
feedback in a way that is necessary to ensure that all students experience mastery.
Many students become disengaged and the effect is most severe for disadvantaged minority
students. Alternative theories of the achievement gap do not adequately explain the observed
pattern of data. A league table analysis indicates that interventions based on the proposed
model of the achievement gap are more efficient than 21 alternative approaches for raising
achievement and suggest a promising strategy for addressing the achievement gap.
Keywords
- achievement,
- race,
- equity,
- educational policy,
- schooling
Disciplines
Publication Date
2015
Citation Information
Stuart S Yeh. "Two Models of Learning and Achievement: An Explanation for the Achievement Gap?" Teachers College Record Vol. 117 Iss. 12 (2015) p. 1 - 48 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/stuart_yeh/18/