Participants for this study were selected from the Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System which collects and stores data pertaining to the TAKS standardized examinations. Participants were chosen for this study based on their ethnicity (i.e., Hispanic), programmatic label (i.e., students labeled as Limited English Proficient), and involvement in the fifth grade Reading and Math TAKS examination scores from the most recent seven school years. Fifth grade was selected because students are required to complete the TAKS, when it was administered in the spring of each year.

The term, Limited English Proficient (LEP), is defined by the Texas Education Agency as:

Students identified as limited English proficient by the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) according to criteria established in the Texas Administrative Code. Not all pupils identified as LEP receive bilingual or English as a second language instruction, although most do. (http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2008/glossary.htmlhttp://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2008/glossary.html)

All students whose scores in reading and math were utilized for the schools’ passing rates were either Hispanic or designated as LEP by the Texas Education Agency.

The number of schools in the State of Texas that reported passing rates in reading and in math of Hispanic students and of students with LEP varied by school year. Texas does not permit the release of information that might allow students to be identified. Thus, in cases where all Hispanic students at a school obtained a passing score in reading or in math, their data would not be publically available. Similarly, when small numbers of either Hispanic students or students with LEP are present at a school, their data would also not be made publically available. Sample sizes of schools are present in Tables 1 through 6. In every case, however, the sample size for each statistical analysis was over 1,000 schools.

Archival data collected through the Academic Excellence Indicator System across a 7 year time period (i.e., 2002-2009) were used to determine the extent to which an achievement gap existed between Hispanic students and students with LEP. The Academic Excellence Indicator System, a composite of information pertaining to all Texas school students, was first compiled in 1984 in response to the achievement gap between White students and non-White students and accountability within schools and districts across Texas (Academic Excellence Indicator System, http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/about.aeis.html). Each year, annual reports are added to the AEIS website and the performance of students are reported in the following areas: results of the TAAS and the TAKS tests; passing rates of students; attendance rates; progress prior year TAKS failures; Exit-level TAKS cumulative passing rates; annual drop out rates; completion rates; and college readiness indicators (Academic Excellence Indicator System, http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/about.aeis.html). With the objective of this research study being to examine differences in academic achievement between Hispanic students and students who were Limited English Proficient, data downloaded were the passing rates on the TAKS Reading and Math exams by ethnic membership and programmatic enrollment.

According to the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) passing standard for reading and math in the fifth grade are as followed:

In reading, 40 is the total possible points given to a student to receive 100% passing rate and 28 points for students to receive 70% passing rate; and in writing, 32 is the total possible point that are given to a student to receive 100% passing rate and 18 points for students to receive 56% passing rate (http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2008/glossary.html#appendf).

In regard to the 2008-2009 academic year, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed the presence of statistically significant differences in passing rates in reading between Hispanic students and students who were LEP, z = -35.17, p < .001, and in passing rates in math, z = -30.11, p < .001. Effect sizes were large, with a Cohen’s d of 1.25 for the reading pass rate difference, and moderate, with a Cohen’s d of 0.78 for the math pass rate difference (Cohen, 1988). An analysis of the descriptive statistics table reveals that Hispanic students averaged 19.29% points higher in their reading pass rates and 10.96% points higher in their math pass rates than students who were labeled LEP. Readers are referred to Tables 1 through 4 for the descriptive statistics for these analyses.

For the 2007-2008 academic year, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed the presence of statistically significant differences in passing rates in reading between Hispanic students and students who were LEP, z = -33.62, p < .001, and in passing rates in math, z = -30.24, p < .001. Effect sizes were large, with a Cohen’s d of 1.26 for the reading pass rate difference and a Cohen’s d of 0.84 for the math pass rate difference (Cohen, 1988). Hispanic students averaged 19.19% points higher in their reading pass rates and almost 12% points higher in their math pass rates than students who were labeled LEP.

Concerning the 2006-2007 academic year, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test yielded statistically significant differences in passing rates in reading between Hispanic students and students who were LEP, z = -32.87, p < .001, and in passing rates in math, z = -29.20, p < .001. Effect sizes were large, with a Cohen’s d of 1.36 for the reading pass rate difference and a Cohen’s d of 0.87 for the math pass rate difference (Cohen, 1988). Hispanic students averaged 21.88% points higher in their reading pass rates and 13.3% points higher in their math pass rates than students who were labeled LEP.

Regarding the 2005-2006 academic year, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test resulted in statistically significant differences in passing rates in reading between Hispanic students and students who were LEP, z = -31.99, p < .001, and in passing rates in math, z = -29.19, p < .001. Effect sizes were large, with a Cohen’s d of 1.41 for the reading pass rate difference and a Cohen’s d of 0.91 for the math pass rate difference (Cohen, 1988). Hispanic students averaged 22.94% points higher in their reading pass rates and 14.22% points higher in their math pass rates than students who were labeled LEP.

For the 2004-2005 academic year, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed the presence of statistically significant differences in passing rates in reading between Hispanic students and students who were LEP, z = -29.53, p < .001, and in passing rates in math, z = -27.22, p < .001. Effect sizes were large, with a Cohen’s d of 1.51 for the reading pass rate difference and a Cohen’s d of 0.89 for the math pass rate difference (Cohen, 1988). Hispanic students averaged 24.56% points higher in their reading pass rates and 14.89% points higher in their math pass rates than students who were labeled LEP.

Concerning the 2003-2004 academic year, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test yielded statistically significant differences in passing rates in reading between Hispanic students and students who were LEP, z = -30.70, p < .001, and in passing rates in math, z = -28.76, p < .001. Effect sizes were large, with a Cohen’s d of 1.51 for the reading pass rate difference and a Cohen’s d of 0.93 for the math pass rate difference (Cohen, 1988). Hispanic students averaged 24.88% points higher in their reading pass rates and 16.15% points higher in their math pass rates than students who were labeled LEP.

Regarding the 2002-2003 academic year, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test resulted in statistically significant differences in passing rates in reading between Hispanic students and students who were LEP, z = -28.09, p < .001, and in passing rates in math, z = -24.15, p < .001. Effect sizes were large for reading, with a Cohen’s d of 1.21 for the reading pass rate difference, and moderate, with a Cohen’s d of 0.72 for the math pass rate difference (Cohen, 1988). Hispanic students averaged 22.24% points higher in their reading pass rates and 12.70% points higher in their math pass rates than students who were labeled LEP.

For the 7-year time period, the trend concerning the differences in passing rates in reading between Hispanic students and students who were LEP in elementary school revealed a continuous achievement gap. Hispanic students’ passing rates in reading averaged 19.19% to 24.94% higher than the reading passing rates of students who were LEP for reading, over the 7-year time period. The differences in passing rates in reading between Hispanic students and students who were LEP were evident throughout the 7-year testing period (http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/studies/testingtimeline.pdf). Readers are referred to Table 5 for the mean differences, effect sizes, and effect size ranges across the 7 years of data analyzed.

Differences in passing rates between Hispanic students and students who were LEP were discernible during the 2002-2003 school year, which coincided with the signing of the No Child Left Behind Act (http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/studies/testingtimeline.pdf). As previously mentioned, this law was enacted to bring stricter accountability for school campuses and districts, as well as 100% passing rates for all students by the 2013-2014 school year. The greatest difference in achievement between Hispanic students and students who were LEP was evident during the 2003-2006 school years. The wide discrepancy in passing rate between students corresponded with the administration of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test (http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/studies/testingtimeline.pdf). By the 2007-2008 school year, the mean difference between both groups began to decline and continued to decline the following school year. The narrowest gap occurred during the 2007-2008 school year (19.19%). All 7 years had a large effect sizes (Cohen, 1988). Readers are referred to Figure 1 for the trend that was present concerning the difference in passing rates in reading between Hispanic students and students who were LEP in elementary school, across a 7-year time period.

Figure 1

For the 7-year time period, the trend concerning the difference in passing rates in math between Hispanic students and students who were LEP in elementary school revealed a continuous achievement gap. Specifically, a trend with differences between Hispanic students and students who were LEP was present across the 7-years of data analyzed. Average differences between Hispanic students were 10.96% to 24.56% higher than students who were LEP for math, over the 7-year time period. Differences in passing rates in math between Hispanic students and students who were LEP were evident throughout the 7-year testing period (http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/studies/testingtimeline.pdf).

Differences in passing rates between Hispanic students and students who were LEP were discernible during the 2004-2005 school year, which coincided with the accountability measures of the No Child Left Behind Act (http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/studies/testingtimeline.pdf). As previously mentioned, this law was enacted to bring stricter accountability for school campuses and districts, as well as 100% passing rates for all students by the 2013-2014 school year. The greatest difference in achievement between Hispanic students and students who were LEP was most evident during the 2004-2005 school years. This wide discrepancy in passing rate between students corresponds with the first two years of administration of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test (http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/studies/testingtimeline.pdf). By the 2006-2007 school year, the mean difference between both groups began to decline and continued to decline the following school years. The narrowest gap was evident during the 2008-2009 school year (10.96%). All 7 years had moderate to large effect sizes (Cohen, 1988). Readers are referred to Figure 2 for the trend that was present concerning the difference in passing rates in reading between Hispanic students and students who were LEP, across a 7-year time period.

Figure 2

For the present research investigation, Hispanic students outperformed students with LEP in both reading and math standardized tests for 7 years. For every year analyzed, the achievement gap was present with a moderate to large effect size for Hispanic students and students with LEP. When results of this study are linked with the results of Rojas-LeBouef and Slate (2011b), a moderate to large achievement gap was documented between White students and Hispanic students over an extended period of time.

Though the gap remained constant between these groups of students, increases in TAKS Reading and Math scores were present. Increases in achievement on the TAKS tests can be elucidated by teachers and other school personnel (e.g., special education teachers, literacy specialists, literacy coaches, math coaches) who were teaching students to the test (Assaf, 2006; Diamond, 2007; McNeil, 2000; Smith, 1991; Valenzuela, 2000). In other words, school personnel were teaching students testing strategies; thus, students could be superficially increasing their test scores; and, thus, the achievement gap could unrealistically become narrower between White students and non-White students (Carnoy, Loeb, & Smith, 2001; Haladyna, Nolen, & Hass, 1991; Shepard, 1990).

A recommendation for best practice would be to re-norm or to change the state-mandated test on a regular basis (e.g., every 2-3 years). The practice of changing the test (such as the Scholastic Assessment Test or American College Testing) on a regular basis or re-norming would decrease the opportunities for school personnel to teach students the test and to keep schools from reporting artificially high test scores. Clearly, what is occurring in Texas schools, and in schools across the nation, is the appearance of a diminishing achievement gap. Yet the lessoning of the achievement gap is an illusion that is fueled by school personnel teaching to standardized tests (Donato & de Onis, 1994; Haney, 2006; Harrison, 2006; Linton & Kestor, 2003).

Linton and Kester (2003) examined the achievement gap between White and minority students in Texas, using TAAS and NAEP test results for 8th grade students. The researchers concluded that the test results were misleading due to the inflated scores that were being reported and the inevitable creation of a “possible glass ceiling effect” (p. 2). Linton and Kester (2003) contended that test scores were negatively skewed for both White students and non-White students. For this investigation and the Rojas-LeBouef and Slate (2011b), test results demonstrated the same increase and shift in passing rates for Hispanic students, students with LEP, and White students. As Hispanic students and students with LEP increased their passing rates, so did White students on the TAKS Reading and Math tests. Therefore, a shift of scores occurred, and the passing rates for Hispanic students, students with LEP, and White students became negatively skewed.

Haney (2006) concluded high stakes testing has created an atmosphere of “mania to make test scores average[s] appear to increase” (p. 12). He argued that Florida, Texas, New York, and Alabama had generated fraudulent scores to generate an illusion of accountability. Moreover, Haney (2006) contended that states and school districts were encouraging high school students to drop out of school to give the appearance of state compliancy to the NCLB Act.

Another recommendation is that state education agencies need to emphasize programs that work effectively instead of using programs that are simply recycled from one school district to another school district. According to Brady (2003), most interventions that are implemented under the NCLB Act are accountability systems that have already been applied by most school districts since the 1980s. Some suggestions for best practices are merely recycled teaching techniques that have been used by educators for years (Brady, 2003).

Finally, we suggest that a national panel of experts that be convened to address not only the current achievement gaps that have been present for decades and continue to be present today but more importantly to examine ways in which to rectify this situation. Clearly, school reform efforts to date that have been implemented have not been successful. We argue that such a national effort on reforming schools is essential for the continued economic success of the United States. Considering the rapid increase of Hispanics, not only in Texas but in the United States, not educating Hispanics and students with Limited English Proficiency will result in lower standards of living for all citizens. As the quote attributed to John F. Kennedy (Adler, 2003) in a speech that he gave in Pueblo, Colorado, on August 17, 1962 goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats”, the American educational system needs radical change so that the tide of education can indeed lift all students’ achievement levels. To do otherwise is absolutely unacceptable.