By Scott Waldman

New York has an achievement problem, according a new report released by education reform advocates on Wednesday.

There is increasing attention given to the importance of the elementary and middle school years in getting students on the path to college. The report shows a "cavernous achievement gap" between white and minority students starts early and only widens as the students enter high school. The report was released by the New York Campaign for Achievement Now, a new education reform group.

While the NYCAN report largely focuses on secondary education, it shows the emergence of disturbing trends that affect the number of students who enter college. The report found that students are segregated by race and class and that only 4.1 percent of black students successfully completed at least one Advanced Placement class, compared to 24.6 percent for New York high school graduates overall.

New York ranks 40 out of 45 states for the Hispanic and white achievement gap, the report found.
The report found that New York is not preparing its children for the 21st century jobs. By 2018, 73 percent of new jobs in the state will require some form of post-secondary education, but only 47 percent of New Yorkers in the workforce have some form of higher education.

"Although we spend more than any state in the country per student on education, we are not preparing the vast majority of our kids for college and they'll never be able to succeed in the job market," NYCAN Executive Director Christina Grant said.

From Bennington to Washington

The White House has tapped a local college president to help figure out how to get more people a higher education.

Karen Gross is president of Southern Vermont College and a member of the Sage College board of trustees. For the next year, she will serve as senior policy adviser to the U.S. Department of Education, serving in the Office of the Undersecretary of Education. During her absence from the college, Chief Operating Officer James Beckwith, will serve as Acting President.

While in Washington, Gross will focus on increasing student access to college, affordability, improved alignment between high school and college, programmatic quality and college completion rates, according to the school.

Gross has proven experience in bringing more students to college. More than half of the 550 students at the Bennington school are the first in their family to attend college.

Gross is a graduate of Smith College and the Temple University School of Law. She became the eighth president of Southern Vermont College in 2006 and was a tenured law professor for more than two decades at New York Law School, where she specialized in consumer finance and over-indebtedness.

"At SVC, we have been working on the very issues that are engaging the Department of Education and our nation," Gross said in a statement. "I look forward to sharing what we are doing here at SVC with a larger audience as we reflect on how to improve affordable college access and completion for many worthy Americans."

Reach Scott Waldman at 454-5080 or swaldman@timesunion.com. On Twitter: @518Schools.