A state audit examining achievement gaps separating different racial and economic groups in Oregon found that Asian students outperform whites on several key measures, including fourth- and eighth-grade math and high school graduation.
It also revealed that as a group, black eighth-graders who are not low-income consistently score the same, on average, in math as low-income white eighth-graders. Both groups score a full grade level lower than white students who are not low-income, state auditors found. Low-income black students score even lower, but they have caught up somewhat since 2008, the study found.
The study, released Wednesday, said that Asian students significantly outperform white students in grade 4 and grade 8 and that 84 percent of Asian high school students graduate on time, compared with 71 percent of Oregon's white high schoolers.
The audit, conducted by a team from the Oregon Secretary of State's audit division, looked at the size of achievement gaps in Oregon and whether they are changing over time. It found little or no narrowing of the gaps that separate low-income and black students from their non-low-income and white schoolmates.
The report said, "There are significant social and economic consequences for achievement gaps among the low-performing groups. For example, lower achieving students are less likely to graduate from high school, and Oregonians without a high school diploma are more likely to be unemployed, receive public assistance or be incarcerated at some point in their lifetime."
It also said, "Achievement gaps impact Oregon’s economy. According to a 2010 ECONorthwest analysis, if Oregon had eliminated its achievement gaps by 1998, economic activity would have been $1.1 to $2.8 billion higher in 2008."
-- Betsy Hammond