Midwest Achievement Gap Research Alliance

Download the alliance’s research agenda [454 KB PDF icon ]

Download the alliance’s overview handout [136 KB PDF icon ]

Partnership Facilitator

Research Liaison

Jameela Conway-Turner
jconway-turner@air.org

Partnership Objective

Many Black students excel academically and draw on resources such as supportive peers and teachers, as well as strong family ties. However, along their path to educational success, Black students face many hurdles that can prevent them from reaching their full potential. Research shows that Black students are less likely than their peers to have access to high-level mathematics and science courses, more likely to face harsher school discipline, and more likely to attend schools with higher concentrations of inexperienced teachers. These inequities in learning opportunities and environments have been described as opportunity gaps, educational debt, and achievement gaps.

The REL Midwest Achievement Gap Research Alliance (MAGRA) leverages data from state education agencies and other key stakeholders to increase the region’s capacity to access, conduct, interpret, and make sense of achievement gap research and to support the use of this research in state and local decisionmaking to significantly and meaningfully improve opportunities for Black students. MAGRA’s primary focus is addressing educational outcomes for Black students in Wisconsin. In addition, a community of practice connects key stakeholders across the region and is an active partner in the research process.

Wisconsin’s overall high school graduation rate ranks among the top in the nation, according to the National Center for Education Statistics 2015 Condition of Education report. However, the gap in scores between White and Black students on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress was the widest in the country. To address this disparity, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is prioritizing improving educational outcomes among Black students.

Members

Tony Chambers, Wisconsin Collaborative Education Research Network
Andreal Davis, Wisconsin Response to Intervention Center
Allison DeGraaf, Kennedy Elementary School, School District of Janesville
Carl Frederick, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Eric Grodsky, Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Madeline Hafner, Minority Student Achievement Network
Julia Hartwig, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Frank Humphrey, Wisconsin NAACP
Jerlando Jackson, Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory
Kurt Kiefer, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Bo McCready, Madison Metropolitan School District
John Odom, Wisconsin NAACP
Brad Saron, Sun Prairie Area School District
Seena Makeeba Skelton, Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center
Brianna Stenson, Kennedy Elementary School, School District of Janesville
Chrishirella Sutton, Racine Unified School District
Karen Wendorf-Heldt, Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) 9
Kate Womack, Kennedy Elementary School, School District of Janesville
Jonas Zuckerman, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Training, Coaching, and Technical Support Projects

Environmental Scan on Closing the Black-White Achievement Gap

REL Midwest provided in-depth coaching and consultation to support the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s continued efforts to close the achievement gap between the state’s Black and White students. REL Midwest’s environmental scan included state and district profiles outlining existing policies, programs, and practices aimed at closing the achievement gap. REL Midwest also created an infographic that details the process for completing an environmental scan.