Port Washington Intel Semifinalist Examines Achievement Gap

Submitted by Port Washington School District

Paul D. Schreiber High School senior Caitlin Ferris has been named a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search competition, the nation’s most prestigious pre-college science competition.

Ferris was recognized for her research project, “The Trajectory of the New York State Achievement Gap: Possible Factors and the Results of No Child Left Behind.”

Only 300 high school seniors were named semifinalists in the competition. Semifinalists were selected from more than 1,800 entrants from 460 high schools in 41 states, Puerto Rico and five American and international high schools overseas.

Ferris will receive a $1,000 award from the Intel Foundation with an additional $1,000 going to her school. Her project explored the results of the educational reform efforts of the past decade. The goal of the research was to determine the trajectory of the academic achievement gap through the past 10 years, after the creation of the No Child Left Behind Act. Using public data amassed through the results of state assessments given in both reading and math to fourth- through eighth-graders in all New York State districts, as well as state government online archives to obtain data about state school districts, Ferris aimed to discover which factors affected the achievement gap the most.

Dr. Aaron Pallas of Columbia University Teachers College acted as Ferris’s mentor, providing her with guidance and his statistical analysis program for research. Ferris also received support from Schreiber High School social science research teacher Dr. David O’Connor. She worked on the project over the course of the summer and into the fall of her senior year.

Her study found that racial resegregation by socioeconomic status is a key issue inhibiting New York’s progress toward educational equality. Another finding of the study, discovered by comparing the achievement gap of fourth-graders in a district to the gap of eighth-graders in the same district, revealed no significant decrease in the magnitude of the achievement gap in most districts statewide. This suggests that the programs currently in place to address the achievement gap in schools are ineffective, positing that the state educational system cannot conquer educational inequality without efforts made to increase the diversity of more affluent socioeconomic groups.

“It was a surprise to me that there was only one semifinalist in our school, and furthermore, that it was a social science student,” Ferris said. “I’m extremely humbled and honored by being recognized for my work. One of the best parts of this accomplishment is the amount of support I’ve received from the community. My teachers and peers have shown overwhelming excitement for me.”

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Mooney lauded Ferris for her commitment to her research project.

“I commend Caitlin for her remarkable diligence and tenacity, which has led to her research being recognized locally and on a national level,” Dr. Mooney said. “The Port Washington School District community extends its profound congratulations to Caitlin on her outstanding recognition.”

Photo: Pictured are Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Mooney, Schreiber High School Principal Ira Pernick, Assistant Principal Dr. Bradley Fitzgerald, Intel Science Talent Search competition semifinalist Caitlin Ferris, social science research teacher Dr. David O’Connor and Social Studies Department Chairman Lawrence Schultz.