Program

Education Doctorate

Number of Pages

95

Year Approved

2023

First Advisor

Krista Soria

Second Reader

Tracy Reimer, Joni Burgin-Hartshorn

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to determine whether the achievement gap between Black and White students differs significantly between Minnesota public charter schools and traditional Minnesota public schools. The reading and math proficiency gaps between Black and White students in Minnesota are among the largest in the nation. Despite the fact that public charter schools have been around since 1991, it has not been determined whether or not they may have an impact on Minnesota’s achievement gap. Long-standing disparities in socioeconomic status, mental health, and college enrollment may be addressed through closing the achievement gap between Black and White children. The study examined whether there are statistically significant differences in the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) reading and math proficiency achievement gap between Black and White students based upon whether they attend Minnesota public charter schools or Minnesota traditional public schools. The researcher used t-tests to analyze the statistically significant differences in the achievement gap using data from the 2021-2022 MCA assessments. The results suggest that public charter schools in Minnesota had a significantly lower achievement gap between Black and White students in reading and math MCA proficiency scores compared to traditional public schools in Minnesota. Additionally, Black students tended to have the higher proficiency rates for reading and math at public charter schools compared to traditional public schools and White students tended to have higher rates of proficiency than Black students regardless of whether they attended public charter schools or traditional public schools.

Degree Name

Education Doctorate

Document Type

Doctoral dissertation

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