References: Howard, T.G. (2010). Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap in…
But before this theory appeared in American social and political debate the ideological background in the United States had to change. American universities and schools since the end of 50s have transformed on the all levels of curriculum. The direct beginnings of transformation process of American schools and universities in respect of race’s diversifications date back to first court’s decisions in case of diversity of student’s groups. One of the fundamental decision in this case was court case, which influenced American society in 1954, known as “Brown vs. Board of Education and the Interest Convergence Dillema”. This case finally decided that diversity of public schools in terms of racial segregation is against constitution and has deleted…
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 the article “Still Separate, Still Unequal” written by Jonathan Kozol, Kozol expose and expresses his concern of unequal treatment in the schools according to whether they are in an urban or suburban area. Using a series of reasoning and logic techniques, he then proves his argument that because of the segregation in schools, minorities are not receiving the same education and opportunities as predominantly white schools. Kozol uses statistic, one on one interviews with students and personal reflections to bring insight to the reader, and why he is asking for a change for equal opportunity.…
After reading “A Day In The Life…Looking Beyond Test Scores” I can see Pat’s frustration in the situation with her student Juana not being accepted into the special academic enrichment program. The difference between Pat’s perception and the test score did not add up. Nevertheless, Pat thought that Juana was a perfect fit for the program even though her IQ test score was not above average. Juana was displaying all the signs to her teacher Pat that she would be an exceptional candidate for the program. Basically, what is required for acceptance into the special academic enrichment program is a high IQ, which does not seem fair. The counselor did not take into consideration that Juana was “motivated, enthusiastic, and demonstrated good task persistence” (Armstrong 2015, page 239) in the classroom.…
Every individual in the United States deserves equal access to education but unfortunately this is not the case. “Despite major progress in some areas, many students, especially students of color, continue to lack the opportunity of a quality education” (U.S Department of Education, 2014). Many years ago the Brown v. Board of Education revealed the racial gap that existed in the early 1960’s and with Brown’s victory we can now have equal opportunity on a racial level. That was a big achievement for the education system as children of any color, culture, or ethnic group received the same quality of education as white children in America. In many poor communities educational opportunities are not as equal as in other sectors where well off Americans live. In this paper I will discuss whether every individual has the right to equal education, who is responsible for the provision of education, and I will suggest an improvement that I believe can help our educational system.…
There are a variety of ways that tests can be misused and have an effect on the individual being tested. One ethical issue that may arise is how the test scores are interpreted and used. Especially the interpretation of test scored when testing diverse populations (Anastasi, & Urbina, 1997). According to Anastasi and Urbina (1997), scores can often be misinterpreted when testing diverse populations because of the lack of investigating further into why individuals from diverse populations obtained the low scores. They go onto report that researchers must explore other factors that may have impacted the test scores that the test itself cannot reveal.…
There are many factors which lead to differences in educational achievement between different ethnic groups. These factors consist of labelling and teacher racism, pupil responses and subcultures, the ethnocentric curriculum, institutional racism and selection and segregation.…
Some educators will argue that the achievement gap is not just an African American issue and other groups are being victimized of the problem too, which is true. Students of all different races are experiencing the achievement gap including white students. However, according to “Racial and Ethnic Achievement Gaps” African Americans are experiencing the gap the most. Students start showing the gap as young as the first grade in reading and math skills. “As of 2012, the white-black and white-Hispanic achievement gaps were 30-40% smaller than they were in the 1970s. Nonetheless, the gaps are still very large, ranging from 0.5 to 0.9 standard deviations.” (Racial and Ethnic Achievement Gaps). Our country is starting to see the gap closing, but we are still experiencing the effects of the negative contributions.…
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 achievement gap is the tested difference of performance between minorities and their counterpart on standardize test such as the SAT and rates of educational attainment. One central factor to the achievement gap is the belief in the black inferiority myth it most clearly affect the correcting of the achievement gap and was a huge part of creating the original gap. “If we are going to have this public conversation about African American student achievement, it will inevitable become a conversation that blames black parents, black students and the black community. The danger is that it will become yet another location for the recycling of the ideology of the African American moral, cultural and intellectual deficiency”(young gifted and black…
Education is considered to be an important sign in any success story that we heard of in the world. many people suffered a tough childhood and poor life in their youth and become successful later on their careers because of a good education. In this paper, I will be discussing how gender, race, and class can change the educational experience depending on people's race, class, and gender. I had three interviews with three individuals, the first one is Anthony a nineteen years old African American male, born and raised in California state. On the other side is Jennifer, a twenty-one-year-old Hispanic female, born and raised in Washington state. And finally Steven, Twenty-one years old Asian American homosexual. I did change the names in order to preserve privacy for them.…
There are many reasons that could explain why this achievement gap exists within our school systems. However, this achievement gap is mainly due to two main challenges that ethnic students have to go through every day at school and outside of school. One challenge is the fact that members of ethnic groups are treated within the schools much more differently than Caucasian or Asian students. The other is that minorities tend to often also live in greater poverty than Caucasian or Asian students.…
This term paper is broken down into three parts. In Part I, I will address the causes of the achievement gap and why it is so difficult to overcome for certain underperforming subgroups. I believe that the underlying factor causing the achievement gap is money. In a direct sense, it is clear that having money is a big advantage for students and not having money creates a host of challenges. The economically disadvantaged achievement gap is created when economic factors cause poor students to begin school behind the curve and then pose obstacles to closing the gap as they get older. There is an achievement gap for ethic groups, as well. Part of this gap can be explained by the fact that historical factors have led to African American and Hispanics being overly represented in the economically disadvantaged category. There are also social and cultural factors that lead to discrepancies in achievement, but tracing these back far enough will show that economic factors played a role in shaping the social and cultural climate. The gap is extremely difficult to close because the current systems do not close the gap, but, instead, perpetuate a cycle of underperformance.…
The achievement gap continues to be up for major discussion in America’s schools. Researchers, reformers, and educators alike are baffled by the achievement gap, for they have no concrete idea why it occurs or any stable solution to solve this growing problem. The achievement gap can be seen through-out grades, test scores, drop-out rates, and graduation rates. To show the extend of the achievement gap, Harold Berlak, a Senior Research Fellow at the Applied Research Center in Oakland, California, explains a study by Professor Samuel Meyers Jr. to see if poverty played a role in students achievement. Meyers prepared a test that would become a prerequisite for graduating high school. In a test run the…