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SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced that he will lead an intensive effort to find ways to close the achievement gap that exists between successful students who are often white or Asian, and financially well off, and struggling students who are too often poor, Hispanic, African American, or disabled. O'Connell issued his call for action to close the achievement gap in his fourth annual State of Education address delivered in Sacramento.

"Real, measurable progress has been made since the institution of standards-based education," O'Connell said, thanking the teachers, paraprofessionals, school administrators, school board members, parents, and students for all of their hard work. "But, while improvement in our schools has been nearly universal, our across-the-board success has still failed to close an achievement gap that threatens the future of our diverse state. Groups of California children who have traditionally struggled – groups that in many instances make up the fastest growing portion of our society – continue to trail behind their peers, and the gap is not closing. Recognizing this is important. Addressing it is imperative.

"Too often, the struggles of the African American student, the English learner, the learning disabled student were hidden by overall school achievement gains. That day is past. Today we are holding ourselves accountable for the results of all children. And when we see significant groups of students falling far short of the goal of proficiency that we hold for all students we must act. Today, equipped with specific knowledge of those gaps, we must focus as never before on solutions."

O'Connell announced that he will focus in the year ahead on finding ways to close the achievement gap by meeting with educators and researchers and visiting schools that are beating the odds and successfully closing the gap. He has directed his statewide P-16 Council to develop a comprehensive plan to narrow the achievement gap. The P-16 Council is comprised of a regionally diverse group of educators, business leaders, preschool experts, college presidents, parents, librarians, and others committed to effective school reform. O'Connell also announced that in November he will host a statewide summit focused on closing the achievement gap.

"All students must continue to improve, but to close the gap we need to find strategies to ensure that those who struggle the most actually learn and improve their achievement at an even faster pace," O'Connell said. "I am calling for a renewed sense of urgency in finding solutions to closing the achievement gap. In today's global economy we simply cannot afford to have any student unprepared to compete."

O'Connell also announced that he will work with leaders in higher education to make sure that educational programs preparing new teachers for the classroom are better linked to California's rigorous academic standards and the needs of California's diverse student population. He also noted promising research that is showing connections between character education and service learning programs and improved student achievement, and announced that he will highlight the role of these concepts in the year ahead.

"The 21st century demands that students know how to work cooperatively, to learn and innovate in teams, to interact with, empathize with, and work with people from different cultures. What some consider old-fashioned virtues are essential for successful citizenship in a global economy," O'Connell said. "Promoting development of good behavior and strong character has always been part of the mission of public schools. It has never been more important that we fulfill this mission, to prepare our students with the guiding principals for successful lives and successful communities. I will encourage and support character education and standards-based service learning over the next four years, and I will be sharing the results of these positive programs in our schools."

Calling quality data critical to making decisions based on results, O'Connell called on Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature to include $32 million in the state budget, a sum of $5 per student, to help schools pay for costs associated with quality data collection and reporting.

"We need data to guide our schools and achieve results. I'm pleased that when fully implemented in 2009, our new statewide student identifier system, CalPADS, will at long last provide a clearer picture of dropout and graduation rates, and a clearer assessment of what's working to help students succeed. I want to make certain that the data we collect meet the highest standards and I want every school and district to make data collection a top priority."

In addition, O'Connell pledged to continue to fight for inclusion of science in intensive teacher professional development programs so that California's neediest students have access to quality instruction in science. He also is committed to continue working to ensure that career technical education programs across the state maintain quality and academic rigor, and, at the suggestion of his P-16 Council, to expand California Partnership Academies from 290 to 500 statewide. These rigorous career-oriented models have proven to be effective in improving the achievement of students at risk of failing or dropping out of school.