Education Watch State Reports – 2006

All around America, people are focusing on the gaps in educational opportunity and achievement that separate low-income students and students of color from others. Most constructive conversations on the topic begin not with finger-pointing or theorizing but with a careful look at hard evidence.

The Education Trust has assembled a series of reports that show how well schools are serving different groups of young people. Every Education Watch State Report presents an array of data in a consistent format so that educators, parents, and public officials can squarely face this issue.

The reports show that disturbing patterns exist in virtually every state and the nation:

• Educational performance is too low, and big gaps separate low-income students and students of color from others.
• Improvement, while real, is far too slow.

Changing these patterns is essential. One reason is that America’s population is changing fast. Indeed, low-income students and students of color now constitute a majority of the nation’s public school students. But opportunity gaps have rigged the system against their educational success. These reports document these gaps and show the resulting toll in student achievement.

The good news is that achievement gaps are not inevitable. Around the country, evidence is unequivocal that low-income students and students of color achieve at high levels when schools and school systems are organized to support student success.

You can learn about progress in your state or the nation by clicking on the link below. We’ve also included a chart that compares states across several important indicators.

Further Editions of Education Watch State Reports: 2003   2004   2009   2011