... The previous national law demanded that states adopt statewide standards, develop statewide assessments, and identify schools that need to improve on these standards. The problem with this was that the schools were not publicly announced nor was there desegregated data taken before that would better point out where more attention would be needed to reduce the achievement gap. With the No Child Left Behind legislation however, this will be given long needed attention. Not only that, but low achieving schools will be forced to make changes with timelines given to make these changes in accordance with. So the statewide standards that were set are finally going to have to be pursued by all school districts and they will have to be met to avoid consequences like what the principal at Millwood Elementary had to go through. Another complicated problem with the achievement gap has a lot to do with the average social economic class of different racial groups. In Kalamazoo alone, thirty-three percent of African American families with children are living below poverty line. That's eight hundred and seventy families out of less than twenty-seven hundred. In contrast, there are six hundred and fifty families below the poverty line out of around five thousand. ...
