Starting-point difference account of the Catholic-public school achievement gap¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 5 claims (5 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article frames the Catholic school achievement advantage as substantially a starting-point phenomenon: Catholic school students score higher on average in math and reading, but they also enter each school year at a higher level. Within-year growth is faster for public school students, who partially close the gap, and the growth differences depend on grade and subject. This reframes the cross-sectional score gap as one that changes in size during the school year.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Requires longitudinal MAP Growth scores at the start and end of school years to separate entering achievement from within-year growth

Constraints¶

• Growth differences are specific to grade span and subject: earlier grades show less Catholic-school growth in both subjects, while middle school math growth is comparable across sectors

Target Learners¶

• Kindergarten through eighth grade students in Catholic and public schools

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Understanding sector differences in math and reading achievement growth

Claims¶

• Catholic Schools Higher Achievement Higher Entry Levels [+M]
• Public School Students Close Gap During School Year [+M]
• Sector Growth Patterns Vary Age And Subject [+M]
• Catholic school students in earlier grades show less academic-year growth than public school peers in both reading and math [+W]
• In middle school, academic-year growth in math was comparable across Catholic and public school sectors [+W]

Related Theories¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Dallavis, J., Kuhfeld, M., Tarasawa, B., & Ponisciak, S. (2021). Achievement growth in K-8 Catholic schools using NWEA data. Journal of Catholic Education, 24(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.15365/joce.2402012021