Achievement Gaps

Contemporary education reforms study on the continuous black-white achievement gap in the public schools, in America. In the book, “Multiplication is meant for White People”: Raising Expectations for Other people’s Children, Lisa Delpit focuses on these reforms and informs educators that education gap does not exist at birth.. Through her experience in the field and as a mother, she gives strategies for raising the expectations of minority or underperforming children especially the blacks. The book has many references of elementary to university success stories of mentioned practitioners.

An achievement gap between White students and students of color has been documented consistently at all education levels. Racial inequality in education is a serious problem in the United States. The Educational Longitudinal Study carried out in 2002 examined the relationship between race and composite reading and math scores among Black and White students. A total of 8,315 tenth grade students were included in this analysis. The results showed a difference in test scores between Black and White students with Whites scoring higher than Blacks (Rowely & Wright, 2011).The findings from this study suggest that discrimination based on race as well as family factors outside the school setting contribute to this difference

The achievement gap is defined as the disparity between the performance groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, ability and socio-economic status. The achievement gap can be observed through a variety of measures including standardized test scores, grade point averages, drop out rates, college enrollment and completion rates. The Black-White achievement gap is a critical issue in modern society’s education system. Although data surrounding the issue clearly indicates that the racial performance gap exists in areas of standardized tests, graduation rates, dropout rates, and enrollment in continuing education, the causative reasons for the gap are ambiguous—therefore presenting a significant challenge in

In American education, there is overwhelming evidence that there is an achievement gap between groups of students. In other words, there are measurable differences in the educations and test scores of different groups of students. Some gaps exist between groups or differing gender or socioeconomic status, but the largest gaps exist between groups of different races. America has always been a country with an influx of different cultures through immigration. In schools, these cultures still remain separated. The most noticeable separation is probably that of White and African American students. Although the achievement gap between White and Black students is easily seen there are other clear gaps in the education of Latino and Asian American

“The socioeconomic achievement gap in education refers to the inequality in academic achievement between groups of students. The achievement gap shows up in grades, standardized test scores, course selection, dropout rates, and college-completion rates, among other success measures” (Ansell, 2017). Typically, when discussing the achievement gap, educators are comparing the academic progress of African-American students or Hispanic students to the progress of white students. More-often-than-not the white students will have more educational achievements than their non-white colleagues (Ansell, 2017). The most widely accepted theory as to why students with higher socioeconomic status (SES) do better academically is high parental involvement, access to economic resources and access to highly qualified teachers (Huang, 2015. Pg.6). Students of low socioeconomic status often live in poverty. This means that the student may not have sufficient school supplies or even someone at home to help him with his homework. There are numerous children in the United States’ school systems that are failing due to the achievement gap. These students are at a disadvantage because the school systems and teachers do not notice or even care about their home life and how it comes into play in their education. It is important for our nation to not only understand the achievement gap but take steps toward correcting it.

In the article "The Black-White Achievement Gap: When The Progress Stopped," NAEP (the National Assessment of Educational Progress), discusses the past 45 years and how children in the black community have still not met the same success as their white counterparts. Not only has education been lacking in the black community but socio-economic growth and interpersonal relationships have seen a downward trend with little to no progress. Moreover, the resources available to higher income white children and low income black children is a stark difference. Focus on change has been slow. Progress to narrow the black-white achievement gap must be met with strong economic support not just from the government but from within the community.

One of the biggest problems Americans face today is a US student’s underwhelming academic performance. When compared to other countries, the United States comes in 18th place in math literacy and 25th place in reading literacy. The problem is not just a standard problem throughout the country, as there is much variation between graduation and subject literacy rates, with huge differences also between schools alone. These statistics are disappointing because the US is considered one of the largest world powers. The disparities in American students academic achievement is also detrimental because they are less able to compete in the global market place. Many things have been used to explain this disparity but race has often led as the main

Another reality that Diane Ravitch sheds light on is the misconstrued theories about the achievement gap. Reformers often say that African American and Hispanic students have not made progress for decades (Ravitch, p.55). However, after looking at the data from NAEP, it is evident that this assertion by the reformers just simply is not true. Rather, these students have shown dramatic increases in math. Many do not recognize this though because white achievement has also improved which keeps the gap at large. (Ravitch, p.56) Throughout different grades, African Americans and Hispanics have shown remarkable progress in mathematics. There has been improvement in reading as well, just not as dramatic as the progress shown in math. Ravitch states, “Today’s reformers often imply that schools alone can close the achievement gaps among different groups. The like to point to exemplary charter schools with high test scores to prove their point” (Ravitch, p.59). While the belief that a charter school could bridge the achievement gap and overcome the disadvantages of poverty, it simply is not a realistically feasible concept. Thomas B. Timar of the University of California states, “Yet the gap is the symptom of larger social, economic and political problems that go far beyond the reach of the school… While schools are part of the solution, they alone cannot solve the problem of educational disparities” (Ravitch, p.60). Timar calls society to take action by

Achievement Gaps in the United States are tough to define. Currently academia is focusing on racial and ethnic gaps and might be overlooking a subtle fact. There is a trend in ongoing research that shows many of lowest achieving students hail from a low socioeconomic status. Before addressing the racial gaps in achievement, educators must look towards better understanding the effect that low SES has on students. After knowing how much SES impacts achievement, educators and researchers will be better able to address racial achievement gaps without biased factors manipulating their data. Articles by Rolf K. Blank, a case study performed by the Washington Board of Education, and an article by Victoria Risko and Doris Walker-Dalhouse will explore

As a whole, Black Americans are behind in comparison White population in terms of education. In elementary school, Black children have been found to be behind their white peers in regards to language acquisition and reading abilities. This has been attributed to the percentage of children who are being read to at home prior to entering into school. While 89% of White children were being read to prior to entering school, only 71% of Black children were (Hoffman, Llagas & Snyder, 2003, p. 37). Being read to as well as learning how to read at the levels of their peers has a positive correlation with school outcomes later in life. This leads to an increased likelihood of a Black child being held back due to skills that are not up to the same standard

The achievement gap is one of the main reasons the U.S. edcuaction system depletesed the gap it refered to whites and asian descendants rank higher on difference charts that african americans and latinos the

This paper focuses on the academic disparities between majority and minority students based on educational assessments. African-American and Hispanic students are scoring significantly lower than White and Asian students in mathematics and language arts. The literature explores reasons for minority students’ underperformance based on economic and other disadvantages. In order to close the gap between minority and majority students the factors have contributed to the divide, must be addressed the conditions of schools, teacher preparation, the quality of coursework, teachers’ perceptions of students, and curriculum rigor. Many of these issues affecting African-American and Hispanic students’ performance are external factors over which

A study conducted by C. C. Burris and K. G. Welner (2005) examined the reasons why the achievement gap exists and remains persistent. The study showed that nonwhite students academically declined in their studies. Erikson’s theory of stage 4 (Industry versus Inferiority) can be aptly applied. The most recent Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools found that 74% of Americans believe that the achievement gap between white students and African American and Hispanic students is primarily due to factors unrelated to the quality of schooling that children receive (C.C. Burris & K. G. Welner, 2005). Factors unrelated to the quality of schooling are social issues that nonwhite students do not deal with in

Racial preferences in university admissions compensates for our history of institutionalized discrimination and extends educational opportunities to those who conventionally could not access them. From Jim Crow laws to Brown V. Board of Education, the United States has had a history of disenfranchising minorities (Jenco). Historical discrimination, especially against people of color, has created social imbalances and inequalities. The consequences of that history are clearly seen with the presence of achievement and wealth gaps. Between whites and blacks the wealth gap is a whopping 10:1 and between whites and Latinos, the gap is more than 8:1. (Wise). African American students were the lowest-scoring racial subgroup on standardized tests and on average only about 29.6% of black students met or exceeded state standards in math at Waubonsie (Jenco). Gaps in education and wealth are due to many factors including parents unable to help their kids with schoolwork, low expectations, and lack of role models (Jenco). Educators have been hesitant to enact reform to

The achievement gap refers to the persistent disparity of educational measures observed between the performance of groups of students, such as students grouped by race, ethnicity or gender. The mathematical achievement gap in Greenville County School District can be observed on a variety of measures, including advanced placement in mathematics courses and standardized test scores. Data shows an unflinching difference in mathematics achievement on standardized tests among students of different ethnic groups and socioeconomic levels at the high school level. These students lack the prerequisite mathematical skills to function effectively in high