<P> One policy strategy aimed at preventing, or at least mitigating, the achievement gap at its earliest stages is investment in early childhood education . Economic research shows that investment at this stage is both more effective and cost effective than interventions later in a child's life . Head Start and various state - funded pre-kindergarten programs target students from low - income families in an attempt to level the playing field for these children before school begins . In addition to increased access, there has also an increased national focus on raising quality standards for Head Start and state - funded pre-K programs, and in improving training and professional development for early care providers . </P> <P> The evidence in favor of investing in early childhood education as a means of closing the achievement gap is strong: various studies, including the Carolina Abecedarian study, Child - Parent Center study, and HighScope Perry Preschool study, have shown that pre-K programs can have a positive and long - lasting impact on academic achievement of low - income and minority students . </P> <P> Sociologists Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips have argued that narrowing the black - white test score gap "would do more to move (the United States) toward racial equality than any politically plausible alternative". As already discussed, there is also strong evidence that narrowing the gap would have a significant positive economic and social impact . </P> <P> Computer and technology use have been linked to increased student achievement . "When teachers and administrators make a sustained commitment to the use of computers in the classroom, student achievement increases (Mann & Shafer, 1997). Randomized experiments demonstrate that the performance of low - achieving students can be improved by using technology that adjusts the level of difficulty of the books and math problems that are presented to each student, raises the probability that each student will achieve high scores on end - of - book reading comprehension quizzes and high accuracy scores on daily math assignments, raises the probability that each student can earn high letter grades, and creates a structured environment where each student is likely to receive regular, objective, positive feedback signaling that he or she is advancing on a daily basis, promoting high self - efficacy and a strong sense of control over academic outcomes . This demonstrates that it is possible to increase engagement, effort and performance, even when the tasks presented to each student become progressively more difficult, if technology is used to individualize task difficulty and create a structure where it is possible for all students to achieve high reading comprehension and math accuracy scores on a regular basis . A comparison of the cost - effectiveness of this approach indicates that it is more efficient than 22 other strategies for raising student achievement . </P>

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