Achievement Gap: Causes, Consequences, And Solutions

The achievement gap is understood as a structural difference between various groups that should be performing at the same standard level in their education but face less opportunities on what they can accomplish. The achievement gap is also known as the “opportunity gap”, and it mostly correlates with the distinction students have starting from kindergarten through the rest of their education constructed by factors like race, social class, economic class, and overall background. The achievement gap prevails all over the United States and has been since the beginning of segregation which came to an end around the 1950’s, it still persists today almost seventy years later. The opportunity gap is an issue that many political educators have tried to resolve in a variety of ways whether it is through special projects/programs created by specialized instructors or federal laws like the “No Child Left Behind Act” passed by congress in 2001. Although many of the programs have helped certain schools around the U.S., they are not internationally accessible and various low-income communities do not have the funds to offer these opportunities to their students. The social political dynamic along with the lack of community collaboration causes the persistence in the gap predominantly in the Latinx community and in order to eliminate it, parents should encourage schools to have teachers run classrooms with equity.

Causes

Even though some rates regarding the achievement gap have gone down, they have not gone down enough for the decades that have passed by. The gap persists because social political dynamics and economic inequalities affect the school’s curriculum so teachers have standardized instructions which do not work for everybody. Other factors are the lack of having a healthy built community, and more parent involvement in school. Low income communities such as the Bronx in NY, East LA, and Eastern Coachella Valley, have less resources for instance, better classes and programs because they do not have sufficient. Current research done by various intellectuals such as Robert K Ream, Sarah M Ryan, and Jose A. Espinoza show that when low income students move to a middle-class community and thus attend their school, their low-test scores change and begin to score a bit higher. The standardized curriculum that schools impose demonstrates that it does not fit everyone and it shows every single year with graduation rates.

Some students need more help than others and have different learning capabilities whether they are learning style or learning theories every single teacher approaches their students in a certain way and unfortunately sometimes not in an effective one. A study done by Julie Maxwell-Jolly and Patricia Gándara show the following teacher placement, “Urban schools with large proportions of low-income students of color and English learners are less likely to have highly qualified teachers than suburban schools that educate more advantaged students”. Students need teachers who are willing to create new teaching methods and instruction. Many teachers tend to have negative or low expectations from a child when their background faces poverty, family problems, and prejudice and forget to encourage them and have high expectations of them. The educational anthropologist, Concha Delgado Gaitan, writes an informative journal about Latino parents becoming more involved with their children’s education. The scholar says that most low-income Latino parents value education but do not know how to reach out to the school and educational resources. She states that it is crucial for the teachers to warm up and reach out to the parents because they are fully capable of taking participation into their child’s education. These are some of the many causes of the education gap in the United States. The gap brings serious consequences for a country that claims to have “justice for all”. The school is not fully to blame and neither are parents because on a macro level spectrum, it all begins with the social political structures and those are constructed by the people as well.

Consequences

The educational gap has serious effects to a particular group of people but also the nation as a whole, continues to fuel stereotypes on success and have large division between these groups the U.S. When students become discouraged based on the causes, it leads them to not graduate high school or attend college, so the persistence of the gap is fueled and discrepancy continues between successful and unsuccessful students. One of the largest consequences is the difference in the test of standardized scores. Research done by Russell W. Rumberger, a vice provost for Educational partnerships in the University of California and Brenda D. Arrellano, a researcher in the Regional Educational Laboratories found in the Southwest, present crucial data. The scholars performed a research study based on early child education between white and Latino students in California. They found that Latino students have a large disadvantage starting from kindergarten and it continues to grow larger as the students keep going to higher grades, the gap begins to increase. The large difference in income as it had been pointed out by Ream and his colleagues has grown drastically for those who already make a good income but for those that have a low income it has only staggered and not grown at all. This deviation becomes a problem to the nation because that means that the tension between the rich and the poor communities will continue to be a problem especially between white folks and people of color. Those who are disadvantaged have a lower chance in achieving the American Dream and their pathway is not paved in any way. They have to learn to navigate through their way which is possible but not easy to do alone. Stereotype threat, difference in opportunities and prejudice will continue to affect the United States if the issue is only talked about but there is not much action being done to resolve the problem.

Solutions

Over the years many academic politicians and educators have come together to try and talk about closing the achievement that poisons the United States but it is something very hard to regulate. There are already many existing programs in the United States that have significantly reduced the gap though a lot of hard work and dedication, but many other schools are doing what they think is necessary however it is not sufficient. It is important for schools to encourage teachers to go out of their way with the standardized curriculum in education and create their own methods that offer opportunities in equity. Stephanie Hirsh is the executive director at Learning Forward and she wrote a critical journal where she speaks about closing the achievement gap. In her article she states, “expanding the support structure at the system level and bringing in selected expertise from outside the school”. The author argues that she calls out to the school districts and systems to take action into researching their issues, embracing them, and acting to change.

On a similar note, the author of books that talk about children’s success, Paul Tough addresses the movement of charter school. Not everyone agrees with how charter schools but his example in particular was effective because they offered tutoring after school, they stayed in campus for more hours, and their summer was cut short to 1 month. This is a great example of how school systems can go out of their way to accommodate better methods for the success of their children. A good example of a program that has now impacted many low income is the project by Linda Navarrette from the UCR Depatment of Education. Her project in named “Project Moving Forward” and it focuses on the rule of 3 which are to rehearse, analyze, and produce.

Another important intellectual came from a TedTalk lead by Lindsey Ott. Dr. Ott makes a metaphor comparing a classroom that all received the same size 10 shoes. That equally serves all students but what if they are not a size 10? A size pair 10 shoes for every student in the class does not work and it works the same way for the standard instruction that exists in the education system in the United States. It is important to consider that some all students come from different backgrounds. Many times, they don’t go home with homework as a priority, especially when they are minority students from field working families that speak no English at home and have other duties to do in the house since their parents come drained from work.

Conclusion

Consequently, it may be concluded that the achievement gap is an issue that can be diminished but not closed forever or it will at least take a couple of more decades more to accomplish that. There are many methods to help save the students at risk in the nation, it is a matter of reaching out to the right organizations for help. The social dynamic construct is something that could be changed through new laws that could bump the “No Child Left Behind” act passed by the congress. Working for a resolution should start within the community because if they don’t realize and acknowledge that there is a problem, there will be no action taken to get rid of the issue. The opportunity gap in the nation makes it hard for all the disadvantaged students to reach the American Dream. For those who do teach, they should not be afraid to overlook the curriculum in order to help students who need additional help. It takes one single person to make a positive impact on a child’s early education and that could be done through a strong encouragement to have the aspiration to succeed on way or another.