Economically disadvantaged, English learner, special education, Black, and Hispanic students were more likely than peers to be ever below benchmark¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? 76 percent of economically disadvantaged students were ever below benchmark versus 53 percent of non–economically disadvantaged students, a relative risk of 1.4; English learner and Hispanic students also had relative risks of 1.4, special education students 1.3, and Black students 1.2. → Lemke 2023

Evidence¶

Lemke 2023¶

Lemke, M., Murphy, D., Soo Ping Chow, A., Spencer, H., & Zhang, A. (2023). Opportunity Gaps: Findings From Initial Analysis of Student Performance in Early Literacy in Massachusetts. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED638519

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Observational analysis of 2020/21 and 2021/22 screening data across all grantee schools, reported in Table 2. The brief prints a relative risk of 1.4 for economically disadvantaged students and notes English learner (1.4), Hispanic (1.4), special education (1.3), and Black (1.2) students' elevated risks.

"76 percent of economically disadvantaged students were ever below benchmark compared to 53 percent of non–economically disadvantaged students. The relative risk of economically disadvantaged students ever being classified as below benchmark was 1.4 times that of non–economically disadvantaged students."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Socioeconomic Status — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• English-Learner Status — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• School test score averages are strongly related to the income of the families a school serves — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Most students below benchmark at the beginning of the year remained below at the end, with persistence highest for historically marginalized student groups (67–80 percent) — related
• K–3 students in Massachusetts grantee schools with the highest percentages of historically marginalized student groups were more likely to be below literacy benchmark at least once and to stay below across the year — related
• Students from low income, English learner, special education, and several racial/ethnic groups are more likely to be repeatedly identified as significantly below benchmark, with low income students 2.5 times as likely — related
• Risk identification varies by grade and student group: kindergarten and grade 3 students were less often at risk than grades 1–2, and economically disadvantaged, English learner, Hispanic, Black, and special education students were more often identified at risk — related
• Special education service concentration showed divergent patterns: similar ever-below-benchmark rates across quartiles but much higher persistence below benchmark in high-concentration schools — related
• Low income, English learner, special education, Black, and Hispanic students were more likely to be classified significantly below benchmark at each time period and more than once — related
• Special education identification is disproportionate for English learner and socioeconomically disadvantaged students in California — related
• English learners, particularly Hispanic Spanish-speaking students, were disproportionately identified for special education in the Specific Learning Disability category — related
• Formal early childhood experience reduces the likelihood of being identified as significantly below benchmark, most pronounced among English learner students and Black English learner students — related
• Students from low income backgrounds, English learners, students receiving special education services, and Black and Hispanic students were more often identified as at significant risk — a broader claim this one bears on
• Ever-below-benchmark rates differed sharply between top- and bottom-quartile grantee schools on high-need concentration, preschool attendance, discipline, attendance, and mobility — related
• Children from economically disadvantaged families are at greater risk for poor kindergarten transitions than their peers — related
• Most reviewed studies used samples composed of at least 40 percent economically disadvantaged students — related
• Across beginning, middle, and end of year time periods, 52 percent of Massachusetts K–3 grantees' students were ever classified as at any level of reading risk, about 27 percent at the highest risk levels, and 12 to 18 percent as potentially at risk of dyslexia — related