Monday, November 8, 2010

Closing the Achievement Gap

The achievement gap refers to the disparity among performance on various educational measures among groups of students defined by gender, race, intellectual ability and socioeconomic status. Examples of these educational measures include standardized tests, dropout rates, graduation rates, etc. It is hypothesized that the achievement gap is caused by a combination of in-school factors and home/community factors. Various educational reforms, such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), attempt to tackle the achievement gap. However, educational reforms such as NCLB, which have primarily targeted issues present in schools, have been unsuccessful in achieving this goal. Therefore, the question of how to narrow the achievement gap remains to be answered.

The abilities of the rich and poor are inevitably affected by the culture and environment in which they grew up. According to Joseph Murphy in “Closing achievement gaps: Lessons from the last 15 years,” children from disadvantaged, poor backgrounds often begin their educational careers at a disadvantage. Differences among racial and cultural factors may also be socioeconomically driven. Poor families lack stability, and access to not only educational resources, but also resources that are necessary to live. Children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds may live in single-parent households, which may also negatively impact their schoolwork because of the lack of time a parent has to help that child with schoolwork. Parenting duties such as assisting with schoolwork become especially difficult when the parent is the sole provider for his/her family. Students who are fortunate enough to be able to go home to parents or caregivers that are able and willing to help with homework, and are involved in their schooling, are better equipped to succeed in school. Each of these deficits impacts the educational experience of children, thus contributes to the achievement gap. But can these issues really be “fixed?”

In her article entitled, “Can we talk? Discussions about race may be a key to closing the achievement gap,” Kristi Garrett says that measures of academic success separating students of color from their white and Asian peers have not dissipated, despite educational efforts intending to do so. She poses interesting questions that spark much thought, including why, in a society that banned racial segregation in school, black students continually score well below their white counterparts. Although discussions about race and racism are often discouraged as issues relating to the achievement gap, Garrett believes that, “the only way to root out systemic racist attitudes and practices is to explore the ways race has shaped a person’s own opportunities and beliefs—often at a subconscious level.” She goes on to say that she believes the foundation of that understanding relates to the awareness of “white privilege.”

But my question is this: does the understanding of “white privilege” take into account the white children that come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, who are inevitably part of the lower end of school achievement? In my opinion, race issues do not tell the whole story of the achievement gap that is ever present in our society. Before we can tackle these issues in the educational realm, we need to develop ways of understanding the culture and backgrounds of low achieving students and their families. If they do not have the things that they need at home, the chances of them even caring about succeeding in school is slim. School leaders need to reach out into the community to determine the needs that exist, before tackling issues involving the achievement gap in schools.

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