Native News Network

MADISON (WPR) A recent study says the school achievement gap between Native American students and non-native students is closing in many states. Now, the Obama Administration is pledging more help for native students.

The study looked at four years of state reading and math test data for 8th graders in Wisconsin and 25 other states that serve large populations of American Indian and Alaska Native students. The results showed that in most of those states, all students showed achievement gains. But while native students generally still trailed non-native students, in most of the states studied, including Wisconsin, the achievement gap closed. Senior Researcher Dawn Mackety is a member of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, in Michigan.  Mackety says the reducing of the gap should be kept in context. She says in most states, there is still a gap, which is still a concern. Mackety says the gap is narrowing slightly, but American Indian kids are not catching up to the point they will surpass or be even with other groups. 

Mackety says it's difficult to tell why some achievement gaps are closing. The study results come as President Obama is looking at reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind law that passed during the Bush administration. Speaking Thursday (10/22) at the national Indian Education Association conference in Milwaukee, U.S. Education Department special assistant Jose Rico promised that the law could be adjusted to help Native American students.  Rico says the Obama administration “is very open to that.”

The No Child Left Behind act requires that all students reach proficiency in reading and math by five years from now.

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Information from Wisconsin Public Radio, www.wpr.org