Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The estimation of racial test score gap trends plays an important role in monitoring educational equality. Documenting gap trends is complex, however, and estimates can differ depending on the metric, modeling strategy, and psychometric assumptions. The sensitivity of summer learning gap estimates to these factors has been under-examined. Using national data, I find Black–White summer gap trends ranging from a significant relative disadvantage for Black students to a significant relative advantage. Preferred models show no overall gap change the summer after kindergarten, but Black students may make less summer math growth than White students with similar true spring scores. In estimating gap trends, researchers must recognize that different statistical models not only carry unique assumptions but also answer distinct descriptive questions.

Keywords

summer setback summer loss Black–White test score gap gap trends achievement gap gap measurement

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alexander

K. L.

Entwisle

D. R.

Olsen

L. S.

(2001). Schools, achievement, and inequality: A seasonal perspective. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23, 171–191. doi:10.1037/h0028330

Allison

P. D.

(1990). Change scores as dependent variables in regression analysis. Sociological Methodology, 20, 93–114. doi:10.2307/271083

Ballou

(2009). Test scaling and value-added measurement. Education Finance and Policy, 4, 351–383. doi:10.1162%2Fedfp.2009.4.4.351

Benson

Borman

(2010). Family, neighborhood, and school settings across seasons: When do socioeconomic context and racial composition matter for the reading achievement growth of young children? Teachers College Record, 112, 1338–1390.

Bond

T. N.

Lang

(2013). The evolution of the Black-White test score gap in grades K–3: The fragility of results. Review of Economics and Statistics, 95, 1468–1479. doi:10.1162/REST_a_00370

Borman

G. D.

Benson

Overman

L. T.

(2005). Families, schools, and summer learning. The Elementary School Journal, 106, 131–150. doi:10.1086/499195

Brooks-Gunn

Klebanov

P. K.

Smith

Duncan

G. J.

Lee

(2003). The Black-White test score gap in young children: Contributions of test and family characteristics. Applied Developmental Science, 7, 239–252. doi:10.1207/S1532480XADS0704_3

Burkam

D. T.

Ready

D. D.

Lee

V. E.

LoGerfo

L. F.

(2004). Social class differences in summer learning between kindergarten and first grade: Model specification and estimation. Sociology of Education, 77, 1–31. doi:10.1177/003804070407700101

Cheadle

(2008). Educational investment, family context, and children’s math and reading growth from kindergarten through the third grade. Sociology of Education, 81, 1–31. doi:10.1177/003804070808100101

10.

Chin

Phillips

(2004). Social reproduction and child-rearing practices: Social class, children’s agency, and the summer activity gap. Sociology of Education, 77, 185–210. doi:10.1177/003804070407700301

11.

Cooper

Nye

Charlton

Lindsay

Greathouse

(1996). The effects of summer vacation on achievement test scores: A narrative and meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research, 66, 227–268. doi:10.3102/00346543066003227

12.

Crocker

Algina

(1986). Introduction to classical and modern test theory. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt.

13.

Downey

D. B.

von Hippel

P. T.

Broh

(2004). Are schools the great equalizer? Cognitive inequality during the summer months and the school year. American Sociological Review, 69, 613–635. doi:10.1177/000312240406900501

14.

Entwisle

D. R.

Alexander

K. L.

(1990). Beginning school math competence: Minority and majority comparisons. Child Development, 61, 454–471. doi:10.2307/1131107

15.

Entwisle

D. R.

Alexander

K. L.

(1992). Summer setback: Race, poverty, school composition, and mathematics achievement in the first two years of school. American Sociological Review, 57, 72–84. doi:10.2307/2096145

16.

Entwisle

D. R.

Alexander

K. L.

Olson

L. S.

(2000). Summer learning and home environment. In Kahlenberg

R. D.

(Ed.), A notion at risk: Preserving public education as an engine for social mobility (pp. 9–30). New York, NY: Century Foundation Press.

17.

Fryer

R. G.

Levitt

S. D.

(2004). Understanding the Black-White test score gap in the first two years of school. Review of Economics and Statistics, 86, 447–464. doi:10.1162/003465304323031049

18.

Fryer

R. G.

Levitt

S. D.

(2006). The Black-White test score gap through third grade. American Law and Economics Review, 8, 249–281. doi:10.1093/aler/ahl003

19.

Fryer

R. G.

Levitt

S. D.

(2013). Testing for racial differences in the mental ability of young children. The American Economic Review, 103, 981–1005. doi:10.1257/aer.103.2.981

20.

Heyns

(1987). Schooling and cognitive development: Is there a season for learning? Child Development, 58, 1151–1160. doi:10.2307/1130611

21.

A. D.

(2009). A nonparametric framework for comparing trends and gaps across tests. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 34, 201–228. doi:10.3102/1076998609332755

22.

A. D.

Reardon

S. F.

(2012). Estimating achievement gaps from test scores reported in ordinal “proficiency” categories. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 37, 489–517. doi:10.3102/1076998611411918

23.

Holland

P. W.

(2005). Lord’s paradox. In Everitt

B. S.

Howell

D. C.

(Eds.), Encyclopedia of statistics in behavioral science (pp. 1106–1108). Chichester, UK: John Wiley.

24.

Knudsen

E. I.

(2004). Sensitive periods in the development of the brain and behavior. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16, 1412–1425. doi:10.1162/0898929042304796

25.

Koretz

Kim

(2007). Changes in the black-white test score gap in the elementary grades (CSE Report 715). Center for the Study of Evaluation, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing. Retrieved from http://www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/r715.pdf

26.

Lareau

(2011). Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press.

27.

Lord

F. M.

(1967). A paradox in the interpretation of group comparisons. Psychological Bulletin, 68, 304–305. doi:10.1037/h0025105

28.

Maassen

G. H.

(2000). Principles of defining reliable change indices. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 22, 622–632. doi:10.1076/1380-3395(200010)22:5;1-9;FT622

29.

McCaffrey

Lockwood

J. R.

Koretz

Hamilton

(2003). Evaluating value-added models for teacher accountability. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.

30.

Mullens

J. E.

Murnane

R. J.

Willett

J. B.

(1996). The contribution of training and subject matter knowledge to teaching effectiveness: A multilevel analysis of longitudinal evidence from Belize. Comparative Education Review, 40, 139–157. doi:0.1086/447369

31.

Murnane

R. J.

(1975). The impact of school resources on the learning of inner city children. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.

32.

Phillips

Brooks-Gunn

Duncan

Klebanov

Crane

(1998). Family background, parenting practices, and the Black-White test score gap. In Jencks

Phillips

(Ed.), The Black-White test score gap (pp. 103–145). Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.

33.

Phillips

Crouse

Ralph

(1998). Does the Black-White test score gap widen after children enter school? In Jencks

Phillips

(Eds.), The Black-White test score gap (pp. 229–272). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

34.

Reardon

S. F.

(2008a). Differential growth in the Black-White achievement gap during elementary school among initially high- and low-scoring students (Working Paper No. 2008-07). Institute for Research on Education Policy & Practice, Stanford University. Retrieved from http://www.ccpr.ucla.edu/events/ccpr-seminars-previous-years/reardon_Differential%20Growth.pdf

35.

Reardon

S. F.

(2008b). Thirteen ways of looking at the black-white test score gap (Working Paper). Stanford University. Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/group/irepp/cgi-bin/joomla/working-papers.html

36.

Reardon

S. F.

Robinson

J. P.

(2008). Patterns and trends in racial/ethnic and socioeconomic academic achievement gaps. In Ladd

H. F.

Fiske

E. B.

(Eds.), Handbook of research in education finance and policy (pp. 499–518). New York, NY: Routledge.

37.

Reardon

S. F.

Valentino

R. A.

Shores

K. A.

(2012). Patterns of literacy among US students. The Future of Children, 22, 17–37.

38.

Rock

D. A.

Pollack

J. M.

Hausken

E. G.

(2002). Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten class of 1998–99 (ECLS–K), psychometric report for kindergarten through first grade (NCES 2002-05). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

39.

Rubin

D. B.

Stuart

E. A.

Zanutto

E. L.

(2004). A potential outcomes view of value-added assessment in education. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 29, 103–116. doi:10.3102/10769986029001103

40.

Spencer

(1983). On interpreting test scores as social indicators: Statistical considerations. Journal of Educational Measurement, 20, 317–333. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3984.1983.tb00210.x

41.

Stanovich

K. E.

(1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360–407. doi:10.1598/RRQ.21.4.1

42.

Tourangeau

Nord

Lê

Sorongon

A. G.

Najarian

(2009). Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten class of 1998–99 (ECLS–K): Combined user’s manual for the ECLS-K eighth-grade and K–8 full sample data files and electronic codebooks (NCES 2009-004). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences.

43.

Wainer

(1991). Adjusting for differential base rates: Lord’s paradox again. Psychological Bulletin, 109, 147–151. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.109.1.147

44.

Werts

C. E.

Linn

R. L.

(1970). A general linear model for studying growth. Psychological Bulletin, 73, 17–22. doi:10.1037/h0028330

45.

Wilson

W. J.

(2009). More than just race: Being Black and poor in the inner city (issues of our time). New York, NY: W. W. Norton.