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KCTS Connects Special: The Learning Curve
Closing the Achievement Gap
Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
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Part 1: Broadband | Dial-Up
Part 2: Broadband | Dial-Up
On May 17, 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court passed a landmark decision aimed at ending segregation in public school.
Brown v. Board of Education concluded that separate schools could not be equal schools.
But today, 50 years after segregated public schools were declared unconstitutional, educational equality is a dream yet to be
fulfilled. Closing the “achievement gap” between white students and students of color, between middle-class students
and poor students, remains one of America’s—and Washington state’s—most pressing challenges.
Closing the Achievement Gap, a KCTS Connects special edition of the KCTS Television-88.5 KPLU
collaborative project, The Learning Curve, explores the causes and consequences of today’s student achievement
gap, and also looks at some Washington state success stories that offer hope for closing the gap. Host Enrique Cerna talks with
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Terry Bergeson and our state’s
top teachers and principals about factors that have contributed to the achievement gap. The special takes viewers to communities
including Kingston and Walla Walla, where innovative programs are helping students forge ahead even in the face of poverty, language
barriers and budget shortfalls.
Closing the Achievement Gap airs on KCTS Television Thursday, May 20, at 7:00 p.m., during the week marking the
50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision aimed at ending segregation in the schools.
According to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), on average, black, Hispanic and Native American students
in Washington state trail their white and Asian classmates in math, reading and writing test scores, in grade-point average and in
rates of graduation. The biggest gap occurs between poor students and students from middle-class families. A national study found
that the reading level of the average economically disadvantaged student in 12th grade is the same as that of the average
middle-class student in 8th grade.
The KCTS Connects special examines the history behind today’s achievement gap, beginning with segregation
and subsequent school integration efforts that have not always been successful.
Learning Curve reporter Jenny Cunningham talks with local African-American attorney and educator Henry W. McGee Jr., a
UCLA professor emeritus who teaches courses including civil rights law at Seattle University. McGee discusses the significance of
the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision and shares his eye-opening experience as a civil rights attorney in Mississippi
in the early 1960s.
Closing the Achievement Gap examines the Seattle School District’s effort to integrate schools through a
mandatory busing program launched in 1972. Sharing their perspectives on race-based busing are Dr. Cassandra Tate, the leading
expert on school busing in Seattle, and young adults who were bused to school.
Also appearing in the special (by satellite) is U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, who talks about his experiences as a black
student in segregation-era Mississippi. Paige also discusses the federal government’s controversial “No Child Left Behind”
act, fielding questions from Cerna including: Can “No Child Left Behind” close the achievement gap? Is it realistic?
Is it setting up the most vulnerable schools for failure? Why are so many educators vehemently opposed to it?
Closing the Achievement Gap is the last of four KCTS Connects specials produced for The Learning Curve.
Previous KCTS Connects Learning Curve specials have examined the ramifications of the federal “No Child Left Behind” Act
for education in Washington state; efforts to help teachers improve their classroom skills; and early childhood learning.
Please see KCTS Connects
website on KCTS.org for related links and articles.
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