Creating schools where race does not predict acheivement: The role and significance of race in the racial achievement gap

This article explores the ways in which race is implicated in efforts to address the achievement gap in U.S. schools. Through an analysis of the theoretical and historical issues that have framed the relationship between race and intellectual ability, the author explains why the effort to close the achievement gap is politically and socially significant. The efforts of two suburban school districts to address the achievement gap is presented to illustrate why some schools are making progress in closing the achievement gap while others are not. These cases are used to make a call for a new discourse about the role of race in student achievement and to clarify how and why race continues to be so controversial and confounding to educators who are working to ensure that all children, regardless of their backgrounds, receive a quality education and have the opportunity to experience academic success.