As I was wrapping up my posting on the race gap in education,
the U.S. Department of Education issued a report on the issue.
Using the same scores I used from the National Assessment of
Educational Progress, it breaks down black/white reading and
math scores by state. Comparative scores for the District of
Columbia are provided only for 4th graders. For these, there’s
one bright spot. The 4th grade math score gap narrowed somewhat
between 1992 and 2007. But the 2007 figures are dismal–both for
all D.C. public elementary school students and for the gaps
between blacks and whites. - The District’s overall 4th grade
math score was the lowest in the country–14 points lower than
the next lowest states and 29 points lower than the all-U.S.
score. - The overall reading score was also the lowest in the
country–10 points lower than the next lowest state and 23 points
lower than the all-U.S. score. - The gap between black and white
math scores was the highest in the country–19 points higher than
the next highest state