Underrepresentation In Education

A free public education is a right for every child in the United States of America, but not all schools are equipped to meet the needs of their diverse population. Therefore, success rates and academic achievement vary to a great extent. There are many unique gender and racial problems African American male students face and special attention needs to be given in order to close the achievement gap. Some of the societal and educational challenges faced include negative racial stereotypes, low income households, and institutional racism. However, educators play an import role in reducing those challenges through connecting their curriculum to African American culture and reducing their subconscious biases. There are many educational reforms that need to be implemented to create a more inclusive environment that fosters growth, learning, and success.

When it comes time for high school students to enroll in classes, many of them decide against taking an Advanced Placement class as a result of false assumptions. Why do false assumptions about AP courses exist when the concept was to help students further their education? While it is true that many students take advantage of these courses, the idea of taking an AP course originated as a beneficial route for students. Arguments that were previously stated in articles can easily be rebutted by analyzing the benefits of taking an Advanced Placement course. High school students may benefit by taking AP courses by developing college-level skills, saving money and time, and impressing college admission officers.

AP courses are not allowing students to delve into the material they are being taught. Students and school officials would be surprised on knowing this realization because many would argue that AP courses provide students with the best education the school offers. These courses are having instructors teach to the test so that the students have a better chance of getting into their preferred college. Many teachers are having to resort to teaching terrible skills to have the students excel in the AP exam. Students are taught to skip on the foundations of an essay and to score the maximum points on the grading rubric with just enough evidence to squeeze by, according to retired high school teacher Keith Bernstein.This type of teaching gives the example that students only need to meet the limit and not show their true potential. Offering these courses will also require teachers to move quickly on

Minorities are a growing segment of the population. However, this group continues to be underrepresented in the area of post secondary education. Obtaining an advanced degree remains a likely predictor of future career success. The problem facing the minority student is that barriers persist which continue to hinder enrollment, retention, and graduation rates in institutions of higher education. These barriers must be identified and examined and solutions offered if college completion rates are to be increased for this population.

Today, African American students are under-represented in college and universities, and the reason is the ongoing disenfranchisement of African American students. Our education system needs be more responsive and needs to pay more attention to the college preparation for these students. People of color historically have been misrepresented, exploited, silenced, and taken for granted in education research (Dillard, 2000; Stanfield, 1995), (H. Richard Milner IV, 2008).

The past has shown that minorities do in fact have equal opportunities compared to the white majority, but they do not use them. There are statistics from the AAMC saying the average MCAT scores and GPAs of applicants who are Latino, Black or American Indian are lower than those of their White and Asian American peers (Liliana M Garces). Liliana M. Garces is an Assistant Professor in the Higher Education Program and a Research Associate in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at The Pennsylvania State University. With her contributions to this area of study, people can see how the ever-growing population of minorities in the United States is becoming an issue. If the minorities can now still get into colleges and universities with these

In perspective of students from underrepresented populations, the numbers are much lower in comparison the number of students participating in the AP course program. However, among concurrent and post-secondary enrollment options the number of low-income students rose 40% from the previous school year, while white student participation percentages remains stagnant ("Postsecondary enrollment options," 2012). This is a state funded program, with affiliated state colleges and universities from which the college credit is earned, which is very beneficial for those who do not have the financial support to attend college. Other benefits to these programs are they allow students to complete a “trial run” of college classes to determine if this is part of their career path without exhausting personal finances. These courses also give students exposure to the high academic expectations associated with college-level work, allow them to find new challenges, and give them momentum to pursue a college degree by awarding them college credits before they graduate high school.

Gregory, Perry and Rankin also explains that In 1907, African Americans infrequently had different choices for advanced education aside from a general (HBCU) .Furthermore, Gregory, Perry and Rankin states that In 2008, HBCUs are still transcendently African American and flourishing in light of the fact that these organizations are effectively teaching and graduating African-American understudies more so than ever before. According to Gregory, Perry, and Rankin Notwithstanding and now and again ignored, HBCUs are an imperative choice for secondary school African-American understudies look into attending more so today than any other secondary institution. Lastly, Gregory, Perry and Rankin explain how (HBCUs) secondary schools offer advantages minority understudies may some way or another not get if they were to attend a non HBCU; which is why minorities and African American understudies choose to attend HBCUs solely over the option of advantages offered at these HBCUs.

Correspondingly, nobody can inflict a massive transition like the students themselves. The student's program like minority scholar at my school place emphasis on thrusting minority students into advanced class (AP). As an African American myself I often struggle to voice my opinions on the educational matter because I feel like nobody regards my issue as serious. As a fellow peer member, my responsibility lies in uplift minority students to excellence on a land beyond their boundary. Nonetheless, the students need to believe in themselves and their goal considering the fact that not all teachers will partake in their journey for success. There are teachers who care about the student's success and those who could care less. The States and government must step up to the plate and aid the school through funding program to hire the true teachers who are willing to dedicate their time and effort promoting the success of all

Students attend school starting at pre-school then kindergarten, kindergarten to first grade and leading up to middle school then high school, the classes and teachers are supposed to prepare them for the next level. With the correct preparation and tools, after graduating high school, many students have their mind set on attending college as the next level. However many African-American male students who do have the ability to graduate high school, are not prepared for their next level which is college. Due to the quality of these schools “the school districts in urban neighborhoods have fewer academic offerings, less qualified teachers, out of date materials and lower quality curriculum” (WOOD, J. (2011), results in the poor education of the minority students attending them. Also due to the different academic and environment backgrounds that white and black students come from, many teachers are unaware of how to teach black students and how to gain their attention in the classroom. Other than

After reading a short section about African American male educational struggles, I wanted to learn more about the obstacles they face and what is being done to bridge the achievement gap. Throughout the semester I have been learning a lot about the importance of multicultural education, therefore I wanted to dive deeper into African American culture and understand why many Black male students are not successful in the American educational system compared to White and Asian American students. Furthermore, as a future teacher, I thought it would be helpful to research this topic, since it is still a prominent issue facing African American communities today. The more I know and understand the challenges, the greater the chance I will become part

The equal opportunity that affirmative action provides has also increased the amount of minority applicants applying to each school. It has “resulted in doubling or tripling the number of minority applications to colleges or universities, and have made colleges and universities more representative of their surrounding community” (Messerli). Since the playing field has been evened, it has encouraged more of those who are disadvantaged because of their ethnicity to apply for and get admitted into college. However, the quotas cause schools to admit under qualified students of minor races who don’t meet the limit over highly qualified students who’s race has reached the limit.

With the rising high school graduation rates among the African-American student body, African-American students are still underrepresented in institutions of higher education (Stinnett, Perkins, Parla, Monson & Ready, 2017). Despite the increasing trends in high school graduation rates among African-American students, immediate college enrollment has not increased significantly since 1990 (Stinnett et al., 2017).

As a testament to the next discussion point of opportunities, especially within the realm of college admission, I have experienced firsthand the opportunities presented by affirmative action. As a low-income, first-generation college student, Virginia Tech had offered me a full scholarship based solely on merit and financial need. As a “minority” according to Virginia Tech, I had an