To all those hardworking public school teachers and administrators, take a moment to give yourselves a collective pat on the back. A recently released study of U.S. public school students indicate that the achievement gap – i.e. the yawning chasm in achievement levels among various subgroups of students – is beginning to narrow. In analyzing test scores, educators are finding disadvantaged students are improving their performance levels on state math and reading tests.

The findings by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) are hopeful indeed. In the CEP’s study, 74% of the cases studies reported gains in achievement for minority and low-income students are across all grade levels and class subjects.

Accessing this progress, the report indicated that the achievement gap is closing because of the increased academic achievement of traditionally lower-performing groups. The report find that the greatest inroads into closing the gap came from African-American and Latino student sub-groups. Native Americans and low-income groups continue to lag behind their peers.

The CEP study collected student performance data from the No Child Left Behind assessments that are required in all 50 states, from 2004 to 2008. Of course, there are detractors of the study’s findings in the educational community.

“Part of the progress on the percent-proficient measure is because the proficiency bar is set so low,” say a professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley. The very nature of the tests may reflect improvement of low-level skills and not be a true indicator of actual academic mastery and achievement. Some critics point to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the “nation’s report card,” which does not indicate any significant change in the achievement gap during the same 2004-2008 period.

The head of Washington-based CEP agrees that U.S. public schools still have a long way to go in closing the gap for all student populations. However, he does insist the CEP study is a hopeful sign that things are changing.

“Now is not the time to let up,” he said. “But as a nation, if we ask schools to narrow the achievement gap and that’s what the schools are doing, we should give them credit for it.”

So teachers, put down those erasers and take a bow – then get back to work. You’re doing a great job!