"Visualize the achievement gap. What comes to mind are disadvantaged black and Hispanic students trailing far behind their white counterparts on test scores and other measures of academic success.

Often left out of the picture are smaller populations of American Indian students who place last on just about every educational index. From test scores to attendance to dropout rates, a majority of Indian students don't make it through school.

This week, Minneapolis school officials took an important, needed step to address this part of the learning gap. Board members voted to work with the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors (MUID) and others from the native community to improve Indian student achievement. Following two years of discussion initiated by MUID, directors entered into a five-year agreement to use best cultural practices to serve native kids."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Another way to close the achievement gap (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 10/12)
pwlat

National Indian Education Study:
Overview | Executive Summary | Full Report

Relevant Links:
National Center for Education Statistics - http://nces.ed.gov
Nation's Report Card - http://www.nationsreportcard.gov

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