Focus on Early Childhood Learning in Order to Raise Achievement in Predominantly Disadvantaged School Districts

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A student’s economic background is a strong predictor of his or her academic performance. This study sought to identify characteristics of school districts that are predominantly economically disadvantaged and perform well academically. Using a national dataset of average test scores for school districts from 2009–2015, the Program Evaluation Division (PED) identified characteristics of predominantly disadvantaged districts that demonstrate average or better performance on standardized state tests; PED subsequently completed case studies of 12 such districts. The gap in achievement between predominantly disadvantaged districts and more advantaged districts is already present by third grade.PED found that the small group of high-performing predominantly disadvantaged districts are already achieving these average or better test results in third grade. Thereafter, these districts maintain similar rates of student growth compared to other disadvantaged districts. Thus, the main pathway to higher performancefor predominantly disadvantaged districts is by securing high student achievement in the early education years instead of focusing primarily on achieving above average academic growth after third grade. PED found that high achieving predominantly disadvantaged districts share several characteristics including ·focusing on early education, ·increasing or maximizingstudent learning time, ·attracting, developing, and retaining high-quality teachers, ·using data and coaching to improve instruction, ·seeking additional outside resources, and ·promoting a local school board focus on policy and academic achievement.