This paper defines and critiques the Wide Range Achievement Test-4 (WRAT-4). The first test edition was developed by Sidney Bijou and Joseph Jastak in 1941, and was published in 1946 (Wilkinson, Robertson, 2006). The WRAT-4 was developed and published by Dr. Gary S. Wilkinson and Dr. Gary J. Robertson in 2006 (Hasinger,…
Finishing the book written in 2010, Why Race and Culture Matter In Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap in America’s Classrooms by Tyrone C. Howard has revealed a plethora of scholarship aimed at researching, studying and reflecting upon the methodologies needed, used and proven for closing the achievement gap. This book is one of several in a Multicultural Education Series that has been compiled by Editor James A. Banks. When I opened the book I was impressed by the long list of multicultural books that are available to read and study. I intend on exploring, researching and writing scholarly papers that evaluate responses to interventions that can be deployed to help bridge the achievement gap amongst my multicultural and diverse student population. The list that accompanies this book will be a great place to find original research that can supplement,…
is trite: monkey see, monkey do. Ravitch reaches out to a different audience through her…
When it comes to a child’s education in today’s society race does have an influence on one’s educational experience. There is an inequality that is faced by minorities in the struggle to success. In the article by Motoko Rich from the New York Times called “School Data Finds Pattern of Inequality along Racial Lines” it compares different races and their achievement in school. In a study it stated that a quarter of high schools with the highest percentage of minorities such as, black and Latino students do not offer any Algebra II courses, and more than a third do not have any chemistry classes.” Whites have a full range of courses offered while minorities from low-income neighborhoods do not have these courses available. The studies also found that more than 70 percent of white students attend schools that have a full range of math and science courses and are well-rounded. For minorities, this does not expand their education. The article also mentions that minorities that attend these types of schools also have teachers who do not meet the teaching requirements. The lacks of all of these services does put a strain on our children’s education when it comes to being a minority.…
For years, there has been an incredibly large gap in terms of achievement between children of different ethnicities. Dr. Beverly Tatum is a clinical psychologist who has focused much of her career on the idea of race affecting education. Likewise, Dr. Diane Ravitch is a respected education historian, who has written many articles on various issues in our school systems. In this article we will be observing the viewpoints of both of these writers and comparing their independent solutions for the issues that come from stereotyping in schools. As a matter of fact, race and racism has always played an extremely vital role in education, it determines how children are perceived by the school system and how they are viewed by their peers.…
In an article published by Inequality.org entitled “How America Is Failing It’s Schools” (23 June, 2015), Salvatore Babones argues that “the real crisis in American education is not the schools system,” but rather inequality. He argues this point by providing statistics that prove that highly-concentrated impoverished communities result in lower test scores that, consequently, make America trudge behind international standards; by blaming the public for denouncing the schools that helplessly educate poor children without many resources; and by reaffirming that failing schools are not the result of parents, teachers, or the students themselves, but of inequality. Babones’s purpose is to address and hopefully better America’s equality, eventually…
"America Skips School" by Benjamin R. Barber and "Back to Basics: Test Scores Don 't Lie" by Diane Ravitch are essays by accomplished authors examining the condition of Americas educational system. The main theme of both essays are a criticism of the public school system in America. While both authors have different objections and problems with the system, both clearly feel that there needs to be major changes.…
“No child left behind” act (NCLB) passed this year through congress which was originally passed in 2002, that shows how can be common sense and experience is replaced. The author, Diane Ravitch pointed out in her book that NCLB promotes the weakness in American public school, rather than improving their strengths. The idea of passing NCLB proven wrong, because it is wasting of federal dollars, it increases corruption, and it a-parts teachers from the school system.…
In the U.S. education system today, we have experience an influx of different ethnic groups within the schools; therefore a multicultural framework of our education system was necessary. A multicultural framework means that we structure the school in a way that is promoting the cultural of all students that attend. This however is not true of all school systems and is indicative to why the term “achievement gap” still exists. Achievement gap is a term that has been used in education for several decades; however it has evolved in its usage. An achievement gap refers to the observed disparity on a number of educational measures between the performance of groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race, ability, and socioeconomic status (Scholarpedia.com). Across the U.S, a gap in academic success continues to be evident between minority and underprivileged students and their white peers. This evidence is seen in an array of means, such as tests,…
The No Child Left behind Act is the central issue of debates in the educational arena. In wanting to provide accountability and close the achievement gaps between various sub-groups of the population, the federal government enacted NCLB in 2002.The act focuses on four pillars: stronger accountability, freedom for states and communities, proven educational methods, and more choices for parents. Since its inception, it has been surrounded by controversy. The (NCLB) divided decision makers from local school systems all the way to the federal level.…
No Child Left Behind was designed by the Bush administration to reduce the "learning gap" between different groups of students and to ensure better teacher equality. However, it sets fourth a method of measuring "Adequate Yearly Progress" which aims at 100% proficiency in 10 years time (from the start of the program) (Wood 4). These impossibly high standards cause greater harm than good. One adverse effect of these high standards is that they substantially weaken the safety nets for under-performing students in the nation's schools. As schools struggle to meet the act's impossibly high goals, many incentives to keep underperforming students out, or to hold those already in the school back present themselves. A disturbing example of this comes from King Middle School in Ohio. At this school the average scores increased from the 70th to the 72nd percentile from the 2002 to the 2003 school…
The racial achievement gap in the United States is the educational disparities between various ethnic groups. It is more manifests in African-America and Hispanic. These ethnic groups happen because students of those race are more likely to receive low grade in school, on their standardize test, even drop out of high school and is less likely to even attend college. Each student is independent and gains more equal opportunities as the same as other student who they attend school with. Throughout the American history, the improvement of citizenship in the educational system is the continual process compare with the past, because the minority of the student is even more independent and is equal in the present. However, the unequal economic gap and the different of the individual ability that has led the achievement gap grow in American society today. Over the last couple of years the united states student had make notable in academic achievement but however the racial gap remain the same.…
The No Child Left Behind Act is designed to raise the achievement levels of subgroups of students such as African Americans, Latinos, low-income students, and special education students to a state-determined level of proficiency. However, since its introduction in 2001, it has received a lot of criticism. Some argue the ulterior motives of the Act while others commend its innovation and timing. With the Bush administration coming to an end, it is difficult to determine what will happen to the Act or how effective it will continue to be. Hopefully future lawmakers will be able to evaluate the pros and cons of the Act and the impact it will have on our youth.…
"Research Shows Poverty Creates the Biggest Achievement Gap of All." Cambridge Advanced Learning Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.…
The No Child Left Behind Act has stacked the deck against schools with special needs. At this point in time with the 2004 elections right around the corner, it seems that this Act is taking a lot of criticism for it's rigid approach to the educational progress of our children today. No Child Left Behind has some wonderful goals and aspirations: to "close the student achievement gap, make public schools accountable, set standards of excellence for every child, and put a qualified teacher in every classroom". (http://www.NCLB.gov) In this paper I will be discussing how this new law closes "the student achievement gap" and setting "standards of excellence for every child" using some of the psychological principles that we have covered in this course. Also I will be addressing some of the flaws that this law has by not addressing some of the theories of psychological developments discussed in our text.…