"That is the answer of how we are going to change the history of the achievement gap," committee member Nancy Walser said of the plan.

And administrators could point to some critical gains that show positive improvements, resulting from Superintendent of Schools Bobbie J. D'Alessandro's focus on reading in the early grades.

In first and second grade, the gap between black and white students has narrowed considerably, according to results of early literacy assessments administered to first and second graders.

For first graders, 69 percent of black students were proficient readers, compared to 81 percent of white students. At second grade, 81 percent of black students were proficient, compared to 89 percent of white students.

Though a gap remains in those grades, the space is significantly smaller than the disparity in fourth grade. Among fourth graders, 77 percent of white students tested proficient or above on a nationally-standardized reading test, but just 36 percent of black students--half as many--tested as proficient.

Administrators say starting from the early grades is an important part of narrowing the achievement gap among high school students.

At CRLS, the report showed a wide achievement gap both at the bottom and at the top of the academic spectrum.

Thirty-nine percent of all CRLS students failed at least one class last year, but that percentage was even higher for black students than for white students. While 30 percent of white students failed at least one course, 48 percent of black students did.

On the other end, while 23 percent of white students are enrolled in an Advanced Placement course at CRLS, just 6 percent of black students are.