Equity, Diversity, And Accountability
One of the biggest problems facing the American educational system is equity in regards to the diverse student body, and how public schools should be made accountable for providing a quality education to all students. Bensimon, Polkinghorne, and Bauman's article "The Accountability Side of Diversity" examines the relevance and effectiveness of an accountability system that is designed to measure schools' response to diversity. The hypothesis is that such an accountability system, while difficult to design and implement, would promote equitable education for American students. This research and the article based on it are optimistic, encouraging, and should help American educational institutions pay greater attention to their treatment of minority students.
This article in large part describes the "Diversity Scorecard," a project of educational accountability experimented on several Los Angeles-area colleges. As the authors state, the Diversity Scorecard was designed not to promote diversity -- for these schools' student bodies were already diverse -- but how to ensure that all students have access to the same educational options and outcomes. The underlying assumption is that American universities, even those that boast as diverse student bodies as those found in urban centers like Los Angeles, may not have altered their curriculum sufficiently enough to enhance the education of people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds.
The subject matter of this article is poignant and meaningful, and the authors' willingness to examine the accountability side of diversity is inspiring. The goal is to increase awareness of differences in cultural, racial, socio-economic, and ethnic backgrounds and to investigate the varied needs among these communities. While American schools have increased the diversity of their student bodies, they have not necessarily altered the curriculum or approach to diversity. Based on their research the authors conclude that higher educational institutions have not sufficiently accounted for the needs of their diverse student bodies. Because developing accountability systems for diversity and not just academic performance is a relatively fresh subject, the Bensimon, Polkinghorne, and Bauman article indeed increases awareness of this topic.
