Closing The Achievement Gap

Whether on the scale of a school district, a state, or the nation, achievement gaps exist. Wealth seems to be the deciding factor, with race coming in at a close second, but these do not (and should not) be deciding factors. The State of Texas has developed The P-16 Initiative which seeks to close theses performance gaps between the poor and wealthy. Our textbook reads: “The P-16 is an effort to work with stakeholders collaboratively to foster a more integrated education system, while addressing issues of college readiness standards, teacher education, and educational

When relating poverty to the achievement gap, one can see the correlation. The achievement gap is the discrepancy in academic performance between groups of students, it is more often used to describe the troubling performance gaps between African-American and Hispanic students at the lower end of the performance scale. Many students who are living in poverty fall within these backgrounds and it is understandable why their grades and school performances are suffering. Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of hierarchy needs show that before a child is able to learn or perform any kind of activity, the basic needs must be met, food, shelter, and water (Shaffer, 2014, pp 158).

The data is compared to those students come from affluent socioeconomic status and backgrounds. The data is sourced from several diverse locations in order to give the broadest view of the disparities that exist. Howard (2010) compares data in reading, mathematics, SAT results and disciplinary rates. This data is a formidable beginning to the content of the book because it provides context for the reader to better understand the achievement gap.

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

The Achievement Gap is a term that represents the difference of academic success in certain groups of students such as race, gender, and

How should society handle the perceived differences between races when it comes to education? The goal of both researchers is to narrow the academic gap between white and black students. Both authors attribute the gap between the academic scores of black and white students from opposite sides of racial identity. As Dr. Beverly Daniels Tatum, President of Spelman College and clinical psychologist has written an article entitled “Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” Her approach is from the perspective of the student and how they perceive their role and upper limits while maintaining their place in their peer group's expectations of their race. Dr. Diane Ravitch, a research professor of education at New York University, has written an article entitled "The Facts about the Achievement Gap.” Her approach is from the perspective of how schools and society implicitly or explicitly cast students into achievement tracks based on their race. Both approach the same idea about racial identity, but they have different solutions, such as peer groups, the school board, and who is right about the solution.

The “achievement gap” in education refers to the disparity in academic performance between groups of students. The achievement gap is shown in grades, standardized-test scores, course selection, dropout rates, among other success measures. It’s most often used to describe the troubling performance gaps between African-American and latino students, towards the lower end of the performance scale, compared to their white peers, and the similar academic differences between students from low-income families and those who are privileged. In the past decade, scholars and policy makers began focusing their attention on other achievement gaps, such as those based on sex, English language and learning disabilities.

females (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011). The second reason is that the less experienced teachers are commonly placed in the most difficult schools teaching the most difficult students (Douglas, Lewis, Scott, & Garrison-Wade, 2008). Poor teacher quality is a huge factor in the achievement gap (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011).

The achievement gap is a term that has evolved over the past decades to describe

Tableman and Herron (2004) suggested several components in order for schools to be successful if they had high poverty rates. First, high poverty schools will need to have strong leadership. The primary focus of the principal and leadership team in these schools should be on creating an instructional model that has as its core student learning and a school improvement plan that focuses attention on areas of weaknesses (Kannapel & Clements, 2005). Second educators must have the opportunity to collaborate and work together. It is up to school leadership to provide opportunities for educators to plan cross grade level and with their own grade level (Lauer, 2001). The needs of low poverty students must be stated effectively, revisited often, and addressed constantly (Tableman & Herron, 2004). Teachers and staff at schools showing success see parents as "critical partners" in the learning process (Ragland, 2002). Kannapel and Clements (2009) point out high expectations are a requirement for high poverty schools to be successful. Each successful school had a system in place were they regularly assessed the progress of individual students and had a plan to change instruction in order to meet their students’ needs (Kannapel & Clements, 2005, p.3). Decisions in these schools are discussed and staff comes to collaborative conclusions that they carry out and monitor for modifications (Feldman, 2003).

Each year, children are failing in school. As the years progress, the number of children failing keep rising. In "Closing the Achievement Gap", Kati Haycock, the Director of the Education Trust at the American Association for Higher Education, states " Between 1970 and 1988, the achievement gap between African American and white students was cut in half, and the gap separating Latinos and whites declined by one-third. That progress came to a halt around 1988, however, and since that time, the gaps have widened" (6). As a result, people are doing studies and have come up with several theories that exist on how to address the achievement gap. These ideas have been categorized below to establish the issue to show causes

Diane Ravitch, the author of “The Facts About the Achievement Gap” has proven through research that the achievement gap is caused by ethnicity, family history, and economic background which makes it nearly impossible to close the gap completely. Due to the fact that the achievement gap forms before education begins, it is extremely difficult to eliminate the gap. Not only is this a factor, but another reason to why the achievement gap persists

The education system has been established in order for all members of the communities to receive a fair and equal education opportunity. However, there are many variables that take place and all students receive the same opportunities. The students who live in poor areas tend to struggle more in school because it carries on to the school grounds. Those schools seem to have more difficulty keeping students engaged and on track. For some reason, the students at a low performing school are usually minorities and the school environment is not considered a place for them to thrive. Many teachers may find it difficult to teach in those schools because there is a lot of chaos at times. Therefore, keeping competent teachers is not always possible and that negatively affects the students education as well. Trying to close the gap between low performing schools and those that do well is not an easy task. The effort of school administrators to bring programs to help low performing schools and educating those families who’s children are affected is important because it can help enhance their opportunity to succeed educationally.

With regards to student achievement data, curriculum needs to continue to be rigorous and challenge students of all abilities to achieve excellence in a wide range of academic activities. This striving for excellence does not only pertain to academic but the arts, culture, and sporting activities. Lastly, parents and teachers need to work together. Obviously, all teachers have a bachelor’s degree or higher, but almost 75% of parents have an associate’s degree or lower in regards to education level; with 36.8% of parents having the equivalent of a high school degree or lower. It is imperative for these teachers to work with parents in order to provide a well-rounded education for all students. I realize that some parents might have difficulty offering assistance to their child due to the education gap.

Although no one disputes the value of education, how the country should improve it is fiercely contested. Every few years, along comes a new idea to save American schools, be it enforcing standards, opening charter schools, providing vouchers for private education, or paying teachers based on their performance. The truth is that no plan can save the american education system, its the people within it that need to change. At the start of elementary school, students have a desire to succeed in school and be the best student they can be. Somewhere along the journey of school, many students lose this desire and become bad students. As youth, we plan to meet and ever exceed the expectations that are set upon us. Over the years however, we began to realize that we can do the bare minimum and still meet expectations. We are more worried about our grades and meeting expectations for some award, than we are about the knowledge we all have an opportunity to gain. This is where the problems all start. In order for us to change the way our education system is heading, our students have to regain their passion and desire to learn and exceed the expectations put upon them. When we receive our awful results on our test, it is easy to blame our teachers. The truth is more times than not our teachers are hard working individuals (like beth mcdaniel) that just can’t seem to make the students care about their academic performance. It has gotten to the point where high