The gap between Michigan's white and black students widens dramatically between third and seventh grades, particularly in math

Judy Putnam:

Statewide, the percent of students considered proficient in math dropped across the board by the eighth grade. But the decline was accelerated among black and economically disadvantaged students.

Bridgeport-Spaulding Community Schools officials have yet to conduct a full analysis on subgroup scores, said Superintendent Desmon R. Daniel, but he is aware that the disparity presents problems for numerous districts.

"There's achievement gaps in all types of demographic groups, ethnic, socioeconomic ...," Daniel said.

"This is something definitely worthy of discussion. Once we recognize them, our job is to correct those deficiencies."

Achievement gaps are coming into sharper focus because of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which requires states to separate test scores by gender, race, poverty and disability, said Michigan State University Education Professor Sharif Shakrani.

"If you don't bring the problem to the surface, you're never going to be able to deal with it," Shakrani said.

Among white students, 92 percent statewide were considered proficient in math in third grade, compared with 71 percent of black students.

By eighth grade, 72 percent of white students were proficient, compared with 34 percent of black students.

That means there is a 38-point gap in eighth-grade math scores between white and black students. The gap is even larger among seventh-graders -- 41 percentage points.

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