Further, people that are in more than one afflicted class (e.g. poor African-Americans) may themselves need a blended approach. This is all also true when it comes to the arena that gains are sought in. For example, many of the victims of the achievement gap are noticeably absent from what is known as the STEM fields. STEM is short for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. One such program, known as C-STEM, is present in the state of California. It is put in motion by the University of California system of colleges. A litany of high schools bid for the pilot program for C-Stem and about two dozen were accepted. It was found that direct and guided interventions at the high school level set a much better tone for STEM-related (and other) success for those enrolled students as they grew into adults and started their careers. Further, an approach like this that is not race- or cultural-specific, but rather focuses on multiple afflicted classes, is a way to address more than one affected population at once. (Kuchey & Flick, 2017). This approach works in both urban and rural settings, if done properly (Assouline, Ihrig & Mahatmya, 2017).
The achievement gap also may ultimately negatively affect the U.S. As it may cause the nation to become less competitive in the increasingly global communities (What is the…, 2009). In addition, research indicates that the achievement gap contributes to students who more likely grow up to be unemployed, incarcerated, and poor. Consequently, a quality education proves critical for Black children (Elder, ¶ 3). Causes Contributing to Achievement Gap Causes contributing to
Action Plan StepsThe first step will be to gather two sets of information. One is a full review of the literature on the best practices for closing the achievement gap. The other is the information about the gap in Broward County specifically. We can only close the gap if we correctly identify it. Information about educational outcomes will need to be compared with income, race and gender data. The next
Students, Prejudice and Risk Students learn to be prejudiced through experience with other persons; prejudice by others can lead to prejudice in students, especially if they feel that representatives of a group, such as teachers or persons of authority speak for the whole and express basically biased views. In this way students can become prejudiced against certain groups; or news reports in the media, for example, of the way that police
Students, Prejudice and Risk Students learn to be prejudiced through experience with other persons; prejudice by others can lead to prejudice in students, especially if they feel that representatives of a group, such as teachers or persons of authority speak for the whole and express basically biased views. In this way students can become prejudiced against certain groups; or news reports in the media, for example, of the way that police
Differentiated Instruction and Closing the Achievement Gap It is not always easy to see how differentiated instruction is able to initiate an advantage in schools that are performing extremely low or how it could help in closing the achievement gap. On the other hand, research done by experts show something different. Research has been taking a look at schools that have been on the AYP list and achieving results that are
Black-White Achievement Gap As recently as 1998, the press was reporting that African-Americans score lower than European-Americans on vocabulary, reading, and math skills tests in general, as well as on standardized tests claiming to measure scholastic aptitude and intelligence. Although the gap had narrowed somewhat after 1970, the American black child still scored lower than whites, as much as 15% lower. Despite abundant speculation and a wealth of research, no one