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Among the possible factors, black children are less likely to have the benefit of a two-parent home; they are more likely to live in poorer communities with lower quality educational institutions; and they are 30% less likely to change school by their parents' choice. Unfortunately, the types of educational initiatives designed to reduce the education gap have not proven successful and to the extent their data suggest otherwise, it may be by virtue of over-reliance on the issue of "passing" instead of high achievement.
For example, the NCLB approach emphasized reducing the educational achievement gap among races by focusing on achieving proficiency in academic skills considered to be the most important, such as reading and arithmetic as measured by standardized test scores in the 4th and 8th grades. According to certain measures, these methodologies did narrow the targeted achievement gap. However, on more thorough analysis, those improvements were revealed to be largely illusory because of their focus on minimum levels of proficiency instead of higher levels of achievement. As a result, they create the illusion of comparable achievement because they equate minimal acceptable proficiency with...
Nevertheless, according to most educational researchers, the most important contributing factors are not believed to be genetic. It is generally believed to more likely that the principal causes relate to the relative quality of teachers and educational institutions and to the persistence of negative stereotypes and teacher expectations that interpret student aptitude differently and that channel black students into less challenging educational programs despite the similarity in test scores among black and white students.
Ultimately, both the problem and the eventual solution are likely to be found in larger issues of social factors rather than in inherent differences among black and white students. In that regard, possible solutions may include increased community services for single-parent households, greater flexibility in terms of school choice selection, and increased pay for teachers who choose to work in schools in poorer communities or to…
Racial Gap in Teachers' Perceptions of the Achievement Gap," Jeffrey Uhlenberg and Kathleen M. Brown examine possible reasons for the disparity between Black and White student academic performance. In addition to examining prior research, the authors surveyed teachers to assess their perceptions and opinions about the achievement gap. The four main categories under investigation are the child; the parent(s) and home environment; the teachers; and the school system. The
This is discussed at length by Fusick and Bordeau (2004) "...school-based counselors need to be aware of the disturbing inequities that exist in predominantly Afro-American urban school districts, where nearly 40% of Afro-American students attend school in the United States" (Fusick and Bordeau, 2004) This again places emphasis on the need for mental health programs in these areas of concern. This is also related to findings from a study
School Improvements Performance Outcomes at Dunn Middle School in Trenton Inner-city schools today are struggling with a litany of challenges that threaten the quality of education and the opportunities available to students. Issues such as high poverty rates, crime-afflicted neighborhoods, racial disparity and limited parental involvement all threaten to stand in the way of bright futures for such students. This is true for the attendees of the Grace A. Dunn Middle School
They predict age and gender variations relate to bullying concerns. Of the 25 cartoons implemented in the study, two depict characters with different shades of skin color where skin color appeared to be an issue. One cartoon relating to sexual orientation was not used in several countries. Smith et al. report Olweus to assert bullying to be characterized by the following three criteria: 1. It is aggressive behavior or intentional
A judge's discretion can mean the difference between a young African-American person going to jail and having his or her life irreparably damaged or being placed in a program that might have a chance to save a human being. While judges cannot be caseworkers, they can look at the circumstances of a young offender's life to make rational and reasoned evaluations of someone's risk to society. This can be demonstrated
Violence in Public Schools The recent violence on school grounds (including elementary, middle school and high school violence) has created a climate of fear in American public schools, and the literature presented in this review relates to that fear and to the difficulty schools face in determining what students might be capable of mass killings on campus. Television coverage of school shootings leave the impression that there is more violence on