This short article highlights years of research that examined the racial achievement gap. Research and finding suggest that much of what accounts for the disparities in achievement is attributed to socioeconomic factors. The article offers 8 ways for closing the gap among those most impacted based on the findings and best practices.

This article offers suggested ways for educational systems to mitigate the achievement gap among minority students. Th author suggest that schools should encourage teachers to engage in instructional practices that specifically accommodate their minority students. The author offers a methodological framework for this approach called Hierarchical Linear Modeling.His study investigated the instructional practices that reduce the achievement gap among the minority population. Findings revealed that even when taking student background into account, various instructional practices can made a significant difference in closing the achievement gap.

The research questions of this single site case study involved understanding why an achievement gap exists, and to identify the instructional strategies and best practices used to narrow the achievement gap. Interview data from 14 educators, student test results, and documents (parent logs and campus action plan) were collected and analyzed over five weeks. Data analysis strategies included transcribing interview data, data triangulation, and identifying common themes to report the findings and conclusions of the study. Results of the study indicate that poverty, lack of parental involvement, student culture and behavior, student mobility, and a lack of consistent small group instruction contributed to the achievement gaps between African American, Hispanic, and European American students in mathematics. Likewise, findings indicate that the school narrowed the achievement gaps by actively involving school personnel, implementing small group instruction, encouraging teacher collaboration, mentoring students, and using a variety of resources. Implications for positive social change include providing educators further insight to narrow achievement gaps, which help promote equitable education for all students.