The Facts About The Achievement Gap

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.

Are Black Americans Dumber than White Americans? Can it unequivocally be stated that European Americans hold more intelligence then African Americans? Are African Americans genetically wired to have a lesser mental capacity then European Americans? For a long time this was the explanation to a burning problem. African Americans score lower than White Americans on vocabulary, reading, and mathematics tests, as well as on tests that claim to measure scholastic aptitude and intelligence. “This gap appears before children enter kindergarten and it persists into adulthood. The typical American black still scores below 75 percent of American whites on most standardized

A widespread issue for Americans, the achievement gap is a significant inequality that young minorities face. Directly correlated with the societal injustices of poverty and racism, often resulting in limited opportunities and socioeconomic stagnation, the achievement gap encompasses the disparity in education performance of students by race and income. As the basic values of a democratic government include justice and liberty, it is imperative that a democracy and democratic citizens provide equal opportunity for all, especially in the realm of education.

To be clear, income and wealth inequality are not the only reasons for this achievement gap that continues to persist. Access to childcare, preschool programs, proper nutrition also play a roll, as do physical and

According to Eric A. Hanushek and Steven G. Rivkin, who are the authors of "School Quality and the Black-White Achievement Gap," a research study that is part of the National Bureau of Educational Resources academic journal in conjunction with Harvard University; the basic understanding of the gap is that there is a lack of school policy and student-teacher regimen for the students below average (8). The absence of involvement the teachers have with academically suffering kids’ schooling is harmful and deteriorating to the children’s education. The lack of support that these teachers show to the kids as students can account for the indifferent stance many of the children take towards their education. Also stated in the journal, is that "lower test scores have been proven to be more of the school’s issue and fault than outer influences such as society and home life," (Hanushek/Rivkin 8). The school itself is only one section of the problem, parent's involvement following close behind; followed by the societal circumstances any given child is encompassed in, either positive or negative.

Focusing on the achievement gap and the lack of resources tends to be the main topic of educational researchers.

The education gap was bred by two factors: the delegation of educational responsibility to states and the diversity of race and socioeconomic class in America. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution reserves all powers not explicitly delegated to the federal government to the states. Thus, education is placed under the rule of the individual states. As a result, educational standards vary across the country. The diversity of race and socioeconomic class, in addition to the varying standards, influences school systems. From this educational gap grew a _____ of unused human capacity, resulting in a seemingly permanent recession.

In the education sector, the achievement gap delineates the observed disparity in school performance among student groups. This gap is manifested in measures such as test scores, grades, college completion and dropout rates, and selection of courses. Within the U.S. context, the achievement gap has often been used to refer to the worrying performance disparities between Latinos and African-Americans on one hand and their non-Hispanic white counterparts on the other. The gap also describes academic differences between students hailing from socioeconomically disadvantaged and those who are better off. Throughout history, Hispanic and African-American students have persistently lagged behind whites in academic matters, triggering heated policy discussions.

An equal and high quality education for all students in the United States is crucial to its economic progression. Access to a proper education leads to the acquirement of jobs and opportunities which overall will support the development of a society. Unfortunately, there is a large disparity between ethnic groups, regarding their ability to equally succeed and obtain the same opportunities as their counterparts. This is otherwise known as the attainment gap, which more specifically, refers to the distinct academic achievement differences between groups of students; often times between minority groups and their White peers. This is

Achievement Gaps in the United States are tough to define. Currently academia is focusing on racial and ethnic gaps and might be overlooking a subtle fact. There is a trend in ongoing research that shows many of lowest achieving students hail from a low socioeconomic status. Before addressing the racial gaps in achievement, educators must look towards better understanding the effect that low SES has on students. After knowing how much SES impacts achievement, educators and researchers will be better able to address racial achievement gaps without biased factors manipulating their data. Articles by Rolf K. Blank, a case study performed by the Washington Board of Education, and an article by Victoria Risko and Doris Walker-Dalhouse will explore

The achievement gap is difficult for children just entering school because the bar has already been set to where some of those children are going to land. At the age of three, children of people with careers have vocabularies that are nearly 1.5 times greater than those of working class children, and nearly double the children whose families are on welfare.” This statistic shows that even children at the age of three experience the achievement gap because of their own home life. It is imperative to reduce or eliminate the Achievement Gap in the U.S. To do this we must identify the problem, balance and control the funding, increase our teachers’ abilities and explain the benefits of closing the gap permanently.

The child achievement gap has been an important issue for the United States school system. According to the NEA, child achievement gaps are, “differences in academic performance between students of groups with different backgrounds”. Now with the topic of charter schools and the belief that charter schools are more likely to accept students who are easier to teach and suspend students who are a nuisance to teach, the reason why achievement gaps exists has just gotten broader. Many critics, such as Marcus A. Winters, claims that charter schools are proving that, “education reform can work with even the hardest-to educate students: students with disabilities and students learning English are more likely to remain in charters than in traditional

When there is a significant and constant imbalance in the academic performances or educational requirements the achievement gap is created. Schools are not working hard enough to minimize or close the achievement gap. The achievement gap can differ from school to school, district to district, and community to community and have numerous different influential factors that cause the achievement gap. The achievement gap can be created from standards and requirements students are needed to fulfill, a family's income or districts wealth, and students receiving poor education. Each of those issues that create the achievement gap have a solution.

Reading, writing and the ability to solve simple mathematical problems are a part of the necessary tools needed to survive in America. Consequently, such learning tools are used numerous times throughout the day without recognition. However, reading, writing and basic knowledge of mathematical problems are not equally achieved by all social groups. It is clear that education plays a major role in the future of an individual, yet there are achievement gaps between Black, White and Hispanic groups. Unfortunately, minority groups are not meeting the standard scoring according to statistics. White groups are exceeding Black and Hispanic groups in reading, writing, and mathematics. There are a vast number of reasons for

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.