The White-Black Achievement Gap

Our culture in America puts a huge emphasis on the value of education. However, not all children in America receive the same benefits from school. Jonathan Kozol, author of The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, explores the feelings of those in lower-income districts and the inequality they feel. Kozol focuses on how younger children, elementary schoolers, look around and see richer schools while their own school is run-down and falling apart. People are very aware of the score gap between rich schools and poor schools. Despite our awareness, we miss the main point by trying to close the “word gap”. This gap will only grow larger as poor school districts are economically disenfranchised repeatedly,

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.

Ultimately the lack of reliable resources and preparation from underfunded schools leads African American students into being unprepared for college and jobs, once again reinforcing a vicious cycle of poverty within the community. Gillian B. White, a senior associate editor at The Atlantic, wrote a chilling article regarding the systematic racism that is deeply embedded in the American school system. In the article The Data: Race Influences School Funding, White states “At a given poverty level, districts that have a higher proportion of white students get substantially higher funding than districts that have more minority students” (White). In this quote White explains the clear correlation of race and inadequate funding in the American school

Many quantitative studies highlight a striking gap in academic achievement based on test scores, GPAs, graduation rates, and even college attendance between minority students and white students. According to mass data collected from American schools and universities by the National Library Index, Black minorities applying to college had GPAs .31 points, on average, lower than the national. Hispanics were .14 points below the national (library index 2016). Additionally, minorities were also found to have not had access to advanced preparatory classes that many white students took before college;

Education in United States had come a long way since the last century with the acceptance of diversity in schooling; racial is not a problem in school, but rather economy is the obstacle. The article Racial Stratification and Education in the United States: Why Inequality Persist mentions “In the past the problem was “racism” and was blamed on the whites; today the problem is “poverty” and is blamed on the underclass. In the article also shows the studies of black and white children in the classroom. Both middle-class white and black children tend to do better in school than lower-class children. In the lower-class, the children might have more struggles outside of school in the money aspect; therefore, children have to take on different jobs

This generation of students are called unmotivated, and unwilling to learn. Many gaps won't allow educators to educate these students adequately. The global achievement gap which “is the performance of our students who are economically disadvantaged or who come from low-income backgrounds compared to our middle-class students” (). Many factors attribute to this achievement gap, but two main factors that have to attribute are assessments achievement and negative views of low-income students. These two factors are highly responsible for contributing to the achievement gap in the United States.

For instance, the gap in reading in 2007 between Black and White groups was significant in 44 states, in grade four. However, in 1999 to 2004 the gap for the age nine, in reading, was lower for a longer term than any other period. In the mathematic department, Black groups have grown significantly in 2005, while the White counterpart’s scores have not changed. Thus, causing the gaps between White and Black groups to be narrower in 2005. In 2005, Whites had a twenty-seven point lead over Blacks. The gap point gap in 2007 remained almost the same, with Whites having a twenty-six point lead in reading over Blacks. The reasons for the achievement gaps between Black and White groups are based on family income, social status, and poor schools.

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 education urban minority students and suburban white students receive is by no measurement equal. According to the National Assessment of Educational Process, “white students had average scores at least 26 points higher than black students in both math and reading.” On the prose literacy scale, black adults are 2.8 times more likely than white adults to demonstrate the lowest level of reading proficiency. Also, black student drop-out rates continue to remain higher than white students. Statistics from 2001 state that “on-time graduation rates for black (50%) students were well below those of white (75%) students.” This statistical evidence is significant because it showcases how the achievement gap continues to be a serious problem.

It is every child’s right to have access to a public education system that will provide quality education for success in life. Yet far today far too many children, especially those from poor and minority families, are limited to at risk by school systems with a lower quality of education while students in a low poverty community receive a higher quality of education. It is frustrating that even when socio-economic statuses are rapidly merging and changing that an educational achievement gap still exists between low-income minority students in inner city schools and their white higher income counterparts who live in the suburbs. Educators, policymakers, and researchers all attest to the fact that a large number of schools, particularly in

The achievement gap in the United States refers to a difference in educational outcomes among students of different subgroups - most specifically, groups defined by SES, race, and gender. The reason the achievement gap is broken down into these subgroups is because it more accurately represents the importance of each influence. It is not all of these subgroups in combination that causes the gap, but rather, each one of them individually creates the gap. The ultimate goal of all educators is to actualize all student’s potential, which is why the achievement gap is such a relevant issue. In order to assist students in becoming their best selves academically, the different factors that contribute to the achievement gap need to be individually worked towards to combat their negative effects. We decided to focus our efforts on the gender-induced achievement gap and why we still see it today. The achievement gap due to gender can be compiled into the basic idea that situational factors and behaviors towards genders and how there may be inequality between them cause differences in education outcomes. All in all, it is imperative that the playing field for both genders is leveled within the classroom - in other words, since we know both girls and boys operate and think differently, instructional implications that address those differences should be applied.

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.

As stated by Diane Ravitch a research professor of education at New York University, “The achievement gaps are rooted in social, political, and economic structures. If we are unwilling to change the root cause, we are unlikely ever to close the gaps.” The success of our children’s education is mainly caused by economic, social and political statue. If one does not end the cycle the gap will most likely never close. This ties in with when Kozol cites Marina Warner, an essayist and novelist, saying, “There are expensive children and there are cheap children, just as there are expensive women and cheap women.”(354) There are some children that will have a more expensive education, and

The American education system has an achievement gap. Henfield, Washington and Byrd (2014) defined an achievement gap as a wide margin that separates achievement level. Specifically, the wide margin that separates White students and other cultural groups, such as Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans represents the achievement gap. Henfield, Washington and Byrd (2014) noted that White students traditionally performed at higher academic levels than Black and Hispanic students. The achievement gap that separates White and Black students is frequently discussed (Howard, 2010). However, there are many different theories explaining why the achievement gap exists. Howard (2010) suggested that unequal opportunities create achievement gaps. Therefore, rather than having an achievement gap, we have an opportunity gap that hinders academic achievement.

In the United States we are blessed that all children have the right to receive equal access to education. However, despite educational initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels and even though students should have an equal opportunity to education regardless of their gender or ethnic background, they do not. The disparities in academic performance by these groups is demonstrated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) which is the “largest national representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students known and can do in various subject areas” (NEA, 2015). Students who are not Caucasian and females score below their fellow classmates across various academic exams. According to the NAEP (2015), students from ethnic groups other than Caucasian, scored lower in science and math, with males scoring higher than females. While the trends in NAEP show that some of the gaps have narrowed over the last decades, a report by McKinsey & Company (2009) describes how the education achievement gap imposes a permanent economic recession on the United States as well as “lower earnings, poor health, and higher rates of incarceration.”