A state-appointed education committee in Connecticut released dozens of recommendations last week for closing the academic-performance gap between low-income students and their better-off peers, a gap state officials say is the widest in the nation.
The Connecticut Commission on Educational Achievement said its proposals could close the achievement gap within 10 years.
Among the report’s recommendations: expanding access to prekindergarten; offering more support for struggling low-income students; requiring high school students to pass the Connecticut Academic Performance Test to graduate; and developing better methods to recruit, evaluate, and reward teachers. The commission also suggested creating a “turnaround office” in charge of overseeing the progress of the state’s underachieving schools.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, noted that some of the recommendations would require steep funding increases.
