Cultural Proficiency Continuum for Closing Gaps – Sampling of School Factors
ResearchBased
Themes to
Close
Achievement
Gaps
Cultural
Destructiveness
Cultural
Incapacity
Cultural
Blindness
Cultural
Pre-Competence
Cultural
Competence
Cultural
Proficiency
See the difference,
stomp it out
See the difference,
make it wrong:
See the difference,
act like you don't:
See the difference,
respond
inadequately
See the difference,
understand the
difference that
difference makes
1.Rigor and
Expectations
Promote low
expectations and
deficit perspectives
about students.
Believe that
underperforming
students are not
capable of meeting
standards, leading
to decisions that
further impede
their learning and
progress.
Believe that some
students’ beliefs,
behaviors, and
social patterns are
wrong, and punish
them or attempt to
extinguish them.
Maintain low
expectations and
non-academic
focus for
underperforming
students and their
parents. Focus on
remediation, not
mastery of
standards.
Maintain high
expectations and
rigorous standards
and assignments
for the most
capable students.
Maintain high
expectations for all
students to master
standards and
essential skills.
Promote and
maintain high
expectations and
rigorous
curriculum,
including mastery
of standards,
leading to
improved
performance for
underserved
student groups.
See the differences
and respond
effectively in a
variety of
environments
Promote and
maintain high
expectations and
rigorous academic
curriculum leading
to accelerated
learning and
narrowing and
closing
achievement gaps
for underserved
groups.
Use community’s
diverse cultural
communications,
behavior, social,
patterns, and skills
to justify deficit
perspective about
them.
Resist integrating
aspects of culture
or using culturally
responsive
approaches in
classroom or school
programs, believing
such to be
distractions to
learning.
Occasionally
integrate into
classroom and
school programs
some cultural
aspects of the
school community
and/or culturally
responsive
approaches.
Use culturally
relevant
approaches,
understanding and
integrating
students’ cultural
capital into
instructional and
school programs
2.Culturally
Responsive
Practices
Monitor effects of
integrating
students’ cultural
capital, and using
culturally
responsive
approaches to close
gaps for
underserved
groups.
ResearchBased
Themes to
Close
Achievement
Gaps
3.
Instructional
Supports
Cultural
Destructiveness
Cultural
Incapacity
Cultural
Blindness
Cultural
Pre-Competence
Cultural
Competence
Cultural
Proficiency
See the difference,
stomp it out
See the difference,
make it wrong:
See the difference,
act like you don't:
See the difference,
respond
inadequately
See the difference,
understand the
difference that
difference makes
Teachers believe
that only some
students are
capable of rigorous
work. They
promote high
expectations and
rigorous work for
some students
while focusing on
teacher-directed
instruction, passive
student learning,
and lower level
tasks for struggling
students.
Teachers provide
all students the
same opportunity
to learn. They
believe that all
students can
succeed at high
levels if they try
and that some are
naturally inclined to
succeed and others
are not, regardless
of the level of
intervention of the
teacher. This belief
often leads to some
students not
receiving the
necessary
individual learning
support needed to
be successful.
Teachers
understand that
some students
need individual
learning support .
They differentiate
content, resources,
materials, and
strategies to help
students access
rigorous content,
inconsistently or
inappropriately,
which may meet
the needs of some
students but not
others.
Teachers select,
use, develop, and
scaffold content,
resources,
materials and
strategies based on
students’ interests
and needs. They
assist all students
to access and
navigate rigorous
content leading to
student
engagement and
success.
See the differences
and respond
effectively in a
variety of
environments
Teachers routinely
select, use,
develop, and cocreate with
students content,
resources,
materials, and
strategies that
ensure that all
students navigate
rigorous content
leading to student
engagement and
success. Such
practices are
monitored for their
effectiveness in
narrowing or
closing gaps
between student
groups.
ResearchBased
Themes to
Close
Achievement
Gaps
Cultural
Destructiveness
Cultural
Incapacity
Cultural
Blindness
Cultural
Pre-Competence
Cultural
Competence
Cultural
Proficiency
See the difference,
stomp it out
See the difference,
make it wrong:
See the difference,
act like you don't:
See the difference,
respond
inadequately
See the difference,
understand the
difference that
difference makes
4. Use of Data
Manipulate data to
promote deficit
perspectives about
some students and
to justify
withholding
resources
Use data to sort
students into tracks
or to make
decisions that have
negative
consequences for
them.
Resist analyzing
disaggregated data
believing that
instructional
decisions should be
based what
students
demonstrate on
assessments
through item
analysis.
Consider
disaggregated data
and the needs of
students groups or
individual students
to make decisions
which may not
improve student
learning.
Examine student
learning data,
demographic data,
and data on
instructional
practices to shape
effective
instruction and
classroom/school
decision making.
See the differences
and respond
effectively in a
variety of
environments
Examine student
learning data,
demographic data,
and data on
instructional
practices to shape
effective
instruction and
classroom/school
decision making.
Decisions are
monitored for their
effectiveness on
closing learning
gaps. Adjustments
are made as
needed.
ADAPTED From Stephanie Graham
Consultant II, Equity and Student Achievement
http://www.avid.org/dl/eve_natcon/nc12_creating_cultural_proficiency_handout1.pdf