The 90/90 School Accountability System

According to Sanford Graduate School of Education research, almost every school district enrolling large numbers of low-income studies has an average academic performance significantly below the national-grade level average. Achievement gaps are larger in districts where black and Hispanic students attend higher poverty schools than their white peers. The size of the gaps has little or no association with average class size. The most and least socioeconomically advantaged districts have average performance levels more than four grade levels apart. According to Reardon and colleagues, one-sixth of all students attend public school in school districts where average test scores are more than a grade level below the national average. Also, one-sixth

“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.

Although in the past the biggest cause for unequal opportunities in education has been the gap between different races, recently the gap between income percentiles has affected students substantially. Students go to schools in districts that correlate to the income percentile they are in. Because of this, many students in high-poverty neighborhoods are not given the same amount of time and money as students in upper-class neighborhoods are (Cordes and Miller). This can be seen in a study, conducted in

That race continues to matter in public school classrooms has become abundantly clear particularly in education as in schools across the United States the student population has become more and more diverse (Bergeron, 2008). At the same time the opportunity gap between White and Latino and Black students remains quite wide. According to Lubenski (2002), the achievement gaps occur when one group of students is grouped by race/ethnicity or gender outperforms another group and the difference in average scores for the two groups is significant. While some gaps have begun to close, the opportunity gap between White and Black academic performance has continued to widen (Bohrnstedt, Kitmitto, Ogut, Sherman, & Chan, 2015). Glazer (2007) asserted that, “the most urgent issue in American education for the last half century has been the failure of large numbers of Black students to complete their education and reach an average level of competence” (p.81).

Are educational standards and methods of accountability a bad idea? Most government officials, educators, and parents would agree that we need a standard to educate the present generations for the global world in which they will live. Across the United States each individual state has its own method of achieving their vision of what educational success looks like for their unique student population. Presently educators in the state of Alaska find themselves in a vortex of controversy as they try to implement teaching strategies and demonstrate student proficiency set by the Alaska State Board of Education and Early Developments new adoption of K-12 Alaska Standards. Educators face the challenge of meeting these standards which were set forth

There are several primary educational disparities that arise when race and income are considered. These gaps are due to the notion that the majority of minorities live in low-income areas that have underfunded public schools. Schools in impoverished areas tend to have fewer educational resources such as supplies, funding, amenities, and college preparatory classes. However, “students living in poverty require more intensive resources..., and many schools in poor neighborhoods lack the...resources to break the nexus between student background characteristics and student achievement” (Nielsen, 2013). Since race has already been found to be a significant factor in college readiness, poor racial minorities face a more complex disadvantage than their higher income or white counterparts. Concentrated poverty further prevents minorities from rising in economic status. With such a large population of minority children attending underfunded schools, they are learning in environment that hinders their ability to complete higher education.

In the modern world, education is the crucial key to the economic success. It can help an undeveloped country become a developing country, turn a developing country into a developed one, or even make a developed country become a more advanced economy. A successful education system is a system which makes sure that every student can access school equally. However, although the United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, there seem to be many inequalities in the American education system. In this essay, the education inequalities will be classified into four areas: race, economic background, gender, and Standardized Educational Testing.

Education today faces major equity issues and the number of inequities grows as society progresses. Equity in education has two dimensions, fairness and inclusion. According to research, the educational systems structure affects the school systems equity. “Traditionally, education systems have sorted students according to attainment and evidence from studies of secondary and primary schools, which suggests that such sorting can increase inequalities and inequities, particularly if it takes place early in the education process” (OECD, 2008). One major issue of inequity amongst the schools is financial differences. Students who come from a low-income based background have less money which means a less chance at a better education and less opportunities. This is a prime example of how students from different social classes do not have the same fair chance at an equal opportunity in education. Those coming from an upper class can afford to put their children in a private school which means smaller class sizes as which is an advantage in learning. There is so many things that add to the inequities of education and these social domains have direct effects on what and how much children learn. “Children growing up in low-income neighborhoods, for example, are much more likely to experience repeated stress from violence and crime that may inhibit cognitive development” (Russel Sage Foundation, 2017). Racial discrimination is something else that still exists amongst our

One of the most pressing social justice issues in today’s twenty-first-century society is providing this opportunity for every citizen to pursue an education unlocking a life of reward and fulfillment aiming towards the American Dream (Engberg & Allen, 2011). Opportunities for all high school students remain unequal across society (Gladieux & Swail, 2000), and has always varied between state and institution (Patton, 2015). While a college education is more important than ever, many students will come to institutions of higher education from low-income communities and households with limited exposure to postsecondary education causing a deficiency in the possibility of attainment (Balz & Esten, 1998). Hector Garza, Director of National Council for Community and Education Partnership, mentions that major investments in low-income communities and improvement of educational opportunities, support the Human Capital Theory of better contribution to communities (Fields, 2001). Low-income and first-generation students struggle to survive academically and financially, causing a dearth of persistence in enrollment and completion of a college degree (Gladieux, 1996).

There are a multitude of issues surrounding educational practice in primary and secondary schools around the United States (e.g. School underfunding, growing class sizes, teacher shortages, bullying, etc). In the case of students with ethnic minority backgrounds, those being African American, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American, and certain Asian American, these issues can often be exacerbated. A number of studies show that for these groups of students, there is a statistically significant portion of students who are not performing at the same levels of other groups of students. The roots of this problem stem from centuries of education oppression by institutional sources. In the case of African American students, there was a period in time, despite many issues surrounding the quality of resources provided to them, they were able to attainment level of achievement not seen as often as today. There have also been many initiatives to address the residual effects that were present in students of color but students of color still consistently lag behind their peers in academic achievement and attainment. This creates an achievement gap between different subgroups of students. This means that students of select ethnic and racial backgrounds score lower across the board on standardized test while also scoring well below the national average. The achievement gap also translate to lower grades, higher high school dropout rates, and more behavioral problems within the classroom. While

teachers on helping more of their students gain the skills and knowledge that they need

“One of the first lessons I learned as a teacher was that social class, race, ethnicity, and gender have a powerful effect on the process of education. I found to be blunt, that even in the schools of nation that prides itself on equality of opportunity, some students are more equal than others” (Newman, 2006, p.269). Minority children and those living in poverty are at disadvantage in our education system. Several studies make this clear. A study by Sean Rearden that looked at test scores over a 55-year period found that the achievement gap between students in the 90th percentile and the 10th percentile for income

High school is the most important part of a teenager’s life where it educates the students about different subjects and has them understand why education is a huge factor in living. The problem that takes place with low-income high schools that was stated in the article “How Poverty Affects Behavior and Academic Performance” by Eric Jensen is that:

Many research show that students’ socioeconomic status is an important indicator to students’ achievement in school. In the 2000s, poverty rates increased in the United States. In the late 2000s, 17.3 percent of the U.S.

The achievement gap is unfortunately the disparity in academic performance of groups of students. The achievement gap has affected students for many years from grades, standardized tests, course selection, and dropout rates. Researchers studied and assessed the measures that exist in academic performance to validate this term we know as the “Achievement Gap”. Why are we still talking about the achievement gap in the 21st century? Researchers and public policy officials are examining the dimensions of the achievement gap in America’s school. As a Wisconsin native, this I get angry because we have the widest achievement gap in the nation. Unfortunately, the lack of addressing the “real problem” will continue to impose heavy and often tragic consequences of colored students more specifically sustaining low socioeconomic classes living in higher poverty areas. Ignoring the systemic issue that affect student academic achievement will only continue to increase the school-to-prison pipeline.