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Student Voice:  West Virginia Students Speak Out About the Achievement Gap  (1,194 KB)

The Alliance recently conducted original research into the perceptions some students have about their school experiences and the achievement gap.  The findings contained in this report explored the efficacy of using student voice as a school improvement tool. Focus groups were conducted to determine what low-income, white and African-American students think schools should do to raise student achievement and close the achievement gap. In total, eight focus group conversations were conducted during the spring of the 2004 school year. Four of the focus groups were conducted in an urban school environment and four were conducted in rural school environments.

West Virginia Middle School Students Speak Out About The Achievement Gap 

What actions can West Virginia’s middle schools take to raise student achievement and close the achievement gap between middle-class white students and African-American and economically disadvantaged white students?

The Education Alliance released the results of a study that sought the answer from the perspective of middle-school students themselves.  Eighth-graders in two urban middle schools and a rural middle school made up 18 guided focus groups whose conversations were compiled to provide recommendations for professional development, school-community dialogue and engagement and policy changes.

Among recommendations for teacher training were programs to help students develop positive relationships and negotiate peer conflicts without violence, learning tasks that engage students in small-group activities with opportunities for individual assistance and fair and consistent application of discipline policies.  Recommendations for greater community participation included providing academically successful role models, recognition of student achievements, guiding parents to monitor and enhance their children’s progress and helping students to improve study habits and resist anti-academic peer pressure.

Equal numbers of black and white students were selected to participate in focus groups of either low-, middle- or high-achievers, based on grade point averages.  A student questionnaire provided additional descriptive and demographic information, revealing such noteworthy findings as higher student government participation among white students, higher church/community activity participation among black students and only a 20 percent understanding by all students, almost all the time, of teachers’ lessons, academic or reading material.