Persistent achievement gap vexes education reformers: Six takeaways

No education issue has received more attention in recent years – but with less apparent progress – than the achievement gaps for minority and low-income students. The Center on Education Policy released a study Tuesday that looks at trends in all 50 states. Read our list of a few of the study’s major findings.

Boys behind girls in reading in every state

Newscom
Girls' reading skills exceed boys' across the US. A student at Hall International Elementary in Minneapolis is pictured here.

In every state and the District of Columbia, boys now lag girls when it comes to reading. By the measure of the median percentage of students scoring proficient across all states, boys lag girls by 11 points in eighth grade (66 percent for boys and 77 percent for girls).

Progress in narrowing that gap, meanwhile, has been uneven; in a number of states, the gap is widening.

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