Research Library
Latino Educational Opportunity Report 2007
Publisher: UC ACCORD & UCLE IDEA
Publication Date: 2007, November
Summary or Abstract:
In August 2007, California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell called for greater public attention to the racial achievement gap in education. Highlighting evidence that white and Asian students in California consistently outperform their African American and Latino peers, O’Connell urged a state wide focus on eliminating this gap.
In response to O’Connell’s call, the 2007 Educational Opportunity Report examines California’s poor and unequal educational achievement in light of the conditions in California’s public schools. In essence, we expose two significant opportunity gaps that mirror California students’ academic performance: the gap between learning opportunities in California and other states and the gap in learning opportunities between schools within the state. We conclude that understanding and eliminating California’s racial achievement gap will require simultaneous attention to these two substantial gaps in educational opportunity.