The term "achievement gap" refers to the observed disparity on a number of educational measures between the performance of groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. It most often describes the issue of low-income/minority education in the United States; that is, that Blacks and Latinos and students from poor families perform worse in school than their well-off White and Asian peers. The achievement gap can be observed on a variety of measures, including standardized test scores, grade point average, dropout rates, and college-enrollment and -completion rates. Explanations for the phenomenon -- and levels of concern over its existence -- vary widely, and are the source of much controversy, especially since the effort to "close the achievement gap" has become some of the more politically prominent education reform issues.
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