PERFORMANCE DATA: A CRUCIAL TOOL IN BRIDGING ACHIEVEMENT GAP

THE ESSENCE OF CLOSING THE EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENT GAP MUST BE FOCUSED ON THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENT'S PERFORMANCE. A FUNDAMENTAL GOAL IN THE EQUATION IS THE DIRECT AND MEASURABLE RESULT AND ACHIEVEMENT WITH THE TEACHER AND THEIR ABILITIES IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS. THE ACCOMPLISHED CAN NOT BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT A COMMITMENT AND CLOSE WORKING PARTNERSHIP AND CONTRACT WITH THE PARENTS TO THE GOAL.  A CHILD'S EDUCATION BEGINS WITHIN THE FAMILY IN THE HOME AND IS REWARDED IN PEER GROUP COMPETITION. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.
  
Education took center stage this week, starting with a three-part series on Connecticut's persistent education achievement gap. It's not just an urban issue, Sarah Butrymowicz of The Hechinger Report found, and she spent time with students, teachers and administrators at West Hartford's Braeburn School to see how one of the state's most highly-regarded school systems addresses the problem. Some keys to boosting achievement, she reports: detailed recording of students' academic performance, and intensive intervention to keep kids on track.


Connecticut has the nation's largest achievement gap when it's measured by students' socioeconomic status-its low-income students perform, on average, nearly three grade-levels below their peers. And the problem isn't confined to urban areas, in part because of changing demographics in many of the state's suburbs. In West Hartford, low-income children have traditionally performed about 20-percentage points below others on the Connecticut Mastery Tests.

Also this week, Deirdre Shesgreen reported from Washington on Sen. Joe Lieberman's proposal to make rigorous teacher evaluations, including student performance, a requirement for federal funding. And Bob Frahm disclosed that many teachers in the state are agreeing to low or no raises and other concessions in negotiations with cash-strapped school districts.

In higher education, two controversial proposals--one to offer in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants, the other to implement a sweeping reorganization of all state colleges and universities except UConn--moved forward in the legislature. Jacqueline Rabe also reported that UConn, despite facing the most challenging budget in years, is considering raising tuition and fees by just 2.5 percent--the smallest increase since 2012.