Press Releases 2005

Funding Gap 2005: Most states shortchange poor and minority students

(Washington, DC) – Most states significantly shortchange poor and minority children when it comes to funding the schools they attend, according to a report released today by the Education Trust. 

Nationally, we spend about $900 less per pupil on students educated in our nation’s poorest school districts than those educated in the wealthiest. Worst yet, in some states, this funding gap exceeds $1,000 per pupil.

The problem is widespread.

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Statement from The Education Trust on NAEP Trial Urban District assessment results

Results released today from the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trial Urban District Assessment offer a mix of some very encouraging and disheartening news about the academic performance of students in some of the nation’s largest school districts.

The results show that some urban school districts clearly do a much better job educating children than other districts – powerful evidence that schools and districts make a big difference in student achievement and that low achievement for some groups of students is not inevitable.

Getting the job done: How some high schools are boosting student achievement

(Washington, DC) – The Education Trust will release two reports today that highlight the practices of high schools that are getting the job done and improving student achievement, especially for the poor and minority children traditionally underserved by the American high school.

The first report, "Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground: How Some High Schools Accelerate Learning for Struggling Students," is the result of a careful, on-the-ground study into the practices of public high schools that serve high concentrations of either low-income or minority children and have a strong track

Statement from The Education Trust on U.S. Department of Education’s announcement of a growth-model pilot program

As we work toward getting all of our children to high standards, we need to learn more about which accountability systems provide the most constructive information to teachers, parents, and the public.

A limited, carefully developed pilot to test alternatives to the current approach could be enormously helpful in teaching us how to improve on No Child Left Behind in the next reauthorization.

Five schools honored at the the Annual Education Trust Dispelling the Myth Award ceremony

(Washington, DC) – The Education Trust today will honor five schools from around the country that have made extraordinary progress in educating poor and minority students to high academic levels. Their accomplishments will be celebrated at the Third Annual Dispelling the Myth Award ceremony held in Washington D.C. as part of the Education Trust’s 16th National Conference on closing the achievement gap.

Closing the achievement gap: 2005 NAEP Reading and Math results show some gains, but slowing progress

(Washington, D.C.) – Public school results for the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released today by the U.S.

Statement from The Education Trust on Gulf Coast Disaster

We at the Education Trust are deeply saddened by the images of devastation and desperation we are witnessing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Don’t count them out: Kati Haycock, director of The Education Trust, on Louisiana tragedy and the future of education in the state

Like so many other Americans, I watched in horror as the waters rose in Orleans Parish and other nearby communities. It’s been hard even to imagine the anguish felt by Louisianans as they lost their homes and their jobs, not to mention members of their families.

Statement from The Education Trust on the National Governors Association’s “Graduation Counts: A Compact on State High School Graduation Data”

(Washington, DC) – The Education Trust applauds the governors across the country who today pledged to develop more accurate measures of high school graduation and to build better data systems to collect, analyze, and report this information.

Graduation rates are a fundamental measure of whether high schools are doing their job.

2004 NAEP Long-Term Assessment shows tremendous gains at the elementary level and highlights remaining challenges at the secondary level

(Washington, D.C.) – Today’s results from the 2004 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend assessment offer tremendously hopeful news about the achievement of elementary school students:  Nine-year-olds have posted the highest scores in reading and math since these federal assessments began in the early 1970s.

At the same time, African-American and Latino achievement has soared, and, as a result, the achievement gaps among 9-year-olds are smaller than they have ever been in the history of the long-term NAEP.

“These gains at the elementary scho