Blog Post [ELM#1028] Effectively Closing Achievement and Opportunity Gaps

Several years ago, as a new assistant principal, I walked through the halls of my struggling urban high school with a fellow assistant principal. He confided, “We’ve tried everything, but our gaps keep widening.”

This sentiment echoes across districts nationwide as dedicated educators grapple with persistent achievement and opportunity gaps. Despite our best intentions, we often fall short; not for lack of effort, but sometimes due to a lack of direction.

Common Missteps in Addressing Gaps

Many well-intentioned administrators fall into predictable traps when addressing disparities. First is what I call the “program parade,” where new initiatives are continuously implemented without allowing sufficient time for any to take root. Another mistake is addressing symptoms rather than causes, focusing on test scores while overlooking underlying issues such as chronic absenteeism, teacher retention, or inadequate resources.

As Peter Drucker wisely noted, “What gets measured gets managed.” Unfortunately, we often measure the wrong things or measure without proper context. Data without direction merely quantifies our challenges rather than solving them.

Asset-Based Leadership

Effective gap-closing begins with shifting from a deficit to an asset-based mindset. Too often, we view underperforming students through the lens of what they lack rather than the strengths they bring. When we approached achievement gaps at our school, we began by mapping community and student assets, revealing untapped resources and partnerships that transformed our intervention approach.

Remember: students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Building relationships must precede academic intervention.

Effective Methods That Work

Research consistently shows that specific approaches yield results:

1. High-dosage tutoring with qualified instructors produces significant gains, particularly in mathematics and reading. This isn’t occasional help, but structured and consistent support.
2. Extended learning time that’s well-designed and engaging, not simply more of the same instruction, can accelerate progress for struggling students.
3. Culturally inclusive teaching methods connect the curriculum to students’ lived experiences, increasing engagement and relevance.
4. Distributing top teaching talent across schools, rather than concentrating experienced educators in already advantaged settings.
5. Addressing non-academic barriers through community schools, family engagement, and wraparound services.

As the Principal for our school, we implemented a data-informed, relationship-driven approach, increasing the graduation rate by 41% over four years by aligning these methods with clear accountability structures.

From Insight to Action

Closing gaps requires both courage and consistency. I challenge you to:

1. Audit your current intervention strategies against evidence-based practices. Are you investing in what works or what’s familiar?
2. Examine your resource allocation. Does it genuinely prioritize the needs of diverse learners, or merely pay lip service to them?
3. Create accountability structures for implementation, not just outcomes.
4. Build teacher capacity to serve diverse learners specifically.

What one evidence-based practice could you implement or strengthen this semester? What barriers to access and opportunity can your leadership team dismantle this year? The gaps we seek to close weren’t created overnight, but with focused, persistent effort, they can be eliminated; one student, one classroom, one school at a time.

Your students are waiting. What will you do differently tomorrow?

#EducationalLeader,
Kim

When students are led well, they learn well.

References

Ansari, A., & Pianta, R. C. (2018). Effects of an early childhood educator professional development program on children’s attendance in Head Start. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.

Darling-Hammond, L., & Cook-Harvey, C. M. (2018). Educating the whole child: Improving school climate to support student success. Learning Policy Institute.

Drucker, P. F. (2006). The effective executive: The definitive guide to getting the right things done. HarperCollins.

Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.

Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin Press.

Kraft, M. A., & Falken, G. (2021). A blueprint for scaling tutoring across public schools. AERA Open.

Ladson-Billings, G. (2021). Culturally relevant pedagogy: Asking a different question. Teachers College Press.

Muhammad, A. (2020). Transforming school culture: How to overcome staff division (2nd ed.). Solution Tree Press.

National Education Association. (2022). Addressing the achievement gap: An NEA action guide. NEA Research.

Robinson, V. M. J. (2019). Excellence in educational leadership: Practices, capabilities and virtues that foster improved student outcomes. Journal of Educational Administration.

Schaffer, C., White, M., & Brown, C. M. (2018). A continuum model of collaboration in public education. Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy.

Vaden, R. (2020). Take the stairs: 7 steps to achieving true success. Perigee Books.

Valant, J., & Newark, D. A. (2023). The politics of achievement gaps: U.S. public opinion on race-based and wealth-based differences in test scores. Educational Researcher.

Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education.

The views shared in the Educational Leadership Moment are solely mine and do not reflect the positions of my employer or any entity within the local, state, or federal government sector.