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II. The Baseline – A Wake-up Call to Rhode Island

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For the first time in 1997, RIDE reported state assessment results based on Regents’ standards for student performance. These results serve as the baseline against which we can measure future progress in improving student achievement. The 1997 assessment results, confirmed by Rhode Island’s results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), serve as a wake-up call to all communities in our state. Our students are not prepared to be successful in the new economy of the 21st century.

Specifically, these results tell us that:

1. Students’ achievement is largely predictable by the median income of their communities.
2. Students do better in the areas on which we’ve historically focused – basic skills.
3. Students do poorly in the advanced skills they need now and in the 21st century.
4. Even the students in Rhode Island’s highest performing districts are performing poorly relative to our state’s high standards.
5. There are substantial performance gaps between different groups of students defined by gender, race and ethnicity and special needs.

Achievement is Too Easily Predicted by Income

Chart 1 demonstrates the strong relationship between median family income and student achievement at the district level. It graphs median family income against the percentage of students at or above standard in grade 10 math skills. With some notable exceptions, the two lines track with one another, trending upward as median income increases. This consistency between income and achievement has held for at least ten years.

There are Large Gaps in Student Performance

• The Rhode Island Public Educational System At A Glance (Table 1)
• 1997 Grade Ten Performance by School: Percent of Test Takers at or Above Standard (Table 2)
• Standard Gaps (Chart 2, Chart 3, Chart 4, Chart 5)
• Equity Gaps (Chart 6, Chart 7, Chart 8, Chart 9)

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