Committee to Review Education Gap Proposals (CT)

March 30, 2011

A Connecticut legislative committee is set to review several education proposals intended to help narrow the achievement gap between the state’s w ealthy and low-income students.

The General Assembly’s education committee plans a public hearing Monday on a bill including more than a dozen proposals.

They include letting certain school districts lengthen the school day and academic year to offer more instruction time, making it easier for out-of-state teachers to get Connecticut certification and phasing in all-day kindergarten in struggling districts.

A state-appointed commission says that on average, Connecticut’s poorest students are about three grade levels behind their peers in reading and math. It also says 60 percent of low-income students graduated from high school in 2009, compared with 86 percent of more affluent students.