Achievement Gap Essay

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.

the term receivement gap is useful because it focuses attention on educational inputs-what the students receive on their educational journey, instead of outputs-their performance on a standardized test. This refocusing also moves attention away from the students as the source of these disparities, and toward the larger structure and forces that play a role in their education and development (p. 417). Venzant-Chambers (2009) asserted the issue of the Black and White achievement gap must be viewed through other lenses opposed to the single view of Black students cannot perform as well as White students. Venzant-Chambers (2009) offered other avenues by which to examine the achievement gap such as school tracking, examining the

Most people are not aware that the racial divide cycle amongst students has continually been affecting our society. The question is what can the society as a whole do to break the cycle? There is a gap between African-American students and Caucasian students and it is called achievement gap. Achievement Gap is the difference between low-income and minority students compared to that of their peers. In this generation the Achievement Gap between African-American students and Caucasian students seems to be a major issue but our society fails to recognize why that gap exists. When we recognize that the gap exists, then we can begin to ask how the racial divide cycle can be broken by using positive criticism.

In America today there is a well-known “Achievement Gap” that effects the educational system today. The Achievement Gap is a theory that there is a learning gap in the way white students learn and retain information as opposed to the minority. In this minority group there falls one of the most prominent, black males. The question is why? Why has the graduation rate of black males decreased so much in 10 years? Why is this gap expanding over the years? Finally what are people doing to stop it? Are black males inferior to the other races and groups? The answer lies in the minds of black males, they are finding other ways around the educational system that may or may not be good.

Negative views caused by society have had a major impact on the increasing of African American male juvenile incarceration rates in this country. Education is believed to be one of the most important resolutions to juvenile delinquency, but it does not gain the awareness it deserves in these detention centers. Instead, because of the multiple issues that face juvenile detention centers, academic growth is often ignored (Morrison and Epps 2002). To efficiently restore young people in America 's juvenile justice system, those who are in custody require more educational services that can help develop their educational skills. Foster, Williamson, and Buchannon (2004) reported on a successful reading program that was implemented at a juvenile

In the article "The Black-White Achievement Gap: When The Progress Stopped," NAEP (the National Assessment of Educational Progress), discusses the past 45 years and how children in the black community have still not met the same success as their white counterparts. Not only has education been lacking in the black community but socio-economic growth and interpersonal relationships have seen a downward trend with little to no progress. Moreover, the resources available to higher income white children and low income black children is a stark difference. Focus on change has been slow. Progress to narrow the black-white achievement gap must be met with strong economic support not just from the government but from within the community.

This study endeavored to seek answers that have been at the forefront of research for decades. The researcher has glanced into the lives and experiences of fourteen African-American undergraduate male students to seek answers to the following questions: (1) What are the experiences of African-American male students’ in California’s public high schools? (2) Are California public high schools and school-based professionals adequately preparing African-American male students’ for post-secondary education options? (3) What kind of barriers, if any, has impacted African-American male students’ academic success? (4) How are Black male students’ academically succeeding despite the academic underachievement that data suggests? and (5) What

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.

In many school districts throughout the United States, Black males are more likely than any other group to be suspended and expelled from school (Meier, Stewart, & England, 1989). Youth of color are disproportionately likely to grow-up in poor, disadvantaged neighborhoods characterized by high levels of psychosocial stressors and inadequate supportive resources; Poverty and racial minority status correlate with an increased risk of high-school dropout, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs)(Ssewamala, et. al, 2011). Affected with such a threatening collection of social and economic adversities, it is amazing that the experience of Black males in education, in relation to attainment and gauges of academic performance have not been analyzed more closely. I propose to do a qualitative research study that explores:

According to "The Academic Achievement Gap: Facts & Figures" by Teachers College Columbia University, "One in three African American males will be incarcerated in state or federal prison at some point during their lives, and the rate is significantly higher for black men who do not finish high school. For Hispanic males, the rate is one in six; for white males, one in 17." Historically, under-privileged ethnic groups have been oppressed and deprived from obtaining a good education. Lack of help, support, and resources due to their identity have played a big role on reflecting the cause of what is socially known as the "Achievement Gap". This gap has been an obstacle for under privileged students who aim to fulfill success.

Research shows that on average, there is an educational gap between different ethnicities. This gap is called the racial educational achievement gap and is often looked at as the difference in education between black, hispanic, and white students. Even though this gap is not true in all situations, it is a big enough problem that several organizations have taken extensive research to find out exactly what causes the racial achievement gap. Pinpointing the cause however is difficult because many factors contribute to the racial achievement gap. The more outstanding of

Research by Husband suggest negative impressions and expectations teachers may have towards Black male students, consequently lead to unhopeful results. Educators with unfavorable perspectives regarding African-American male students may cause the student to be less engaged. Hopkins reports that the configurations of schools were never calculated for Black males, “because of the ubiquity of hegemonic, mainstream systems that were not even designed for them from the beginning, it’s no easy task” (Hopkins 82). Hopkins contends the reading barrier of African- American males persist live without a shift of the consistent pattern or model of the dominant group to the “construction, reconstruction and revision of their own lives and thus rebuild and reclaim their communities schools”(Hopkins

As Tyson (2013) pointed out, students of color often receive a lower quality education. Palmer (2010) furthers this notion detailing Black male experience within education. He first notes that American education has historically been less proactive in supporting Blacks. Further, academic research has often described Black males as “endangered, uneducable, dysfunctional, and dangerous” (109) within society and within educational settings. He continues by saying that the issues that hinder Black males from graduation begin early within their educational experience. First, teachers and counselors often write-off Black males in regards to having successful futures. Secondly, Black males have higher suspension rates than their White counterparts. Next, Palmer (2010) points out that Black males are underrepresented in gifted and advanced placement courses, due to ability tracking standards. In opposition, he points out that Black males are disproportionately present in special education courses based on perceived behavioral issues and learning disabilities. Given this experience, Palmer (2010) found that only one out of 15 Black males were adequately prepared for college education, which is in close relation with the invisibility of Black males within the global

As the graph above displays, students in the United States have made notable gains in academic achievement over the past 45 years. However, the racial achievement gap remains due to not

Achievement gap is defined as the differences among test scores compared to minority students and their non-minority peers. “Differences between the scores of students with different backgrounds (ethnic, racial, gender, disability, and income) are evident on large-scale such as standardized tests”