Black-White Achievement Gap: Causes, Challenges, and Solutions

Introduction and Literature Review Organization

"Go into any inner-city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can't teach kids to learn. They know that parents have to parent, that children can't achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white."

— Barack Obama, Keynote Address, Democratic National Convention, 2004 (Fryer, 2006, ¶ 1).

According to Henry N. Kemoni (2008), PhD, Senior Lecturer at the School of Information Sciences, Moi University, Kenya, the researcher's engagement with the literature factors into whether or not a literature review proves successful. In writing a literature review chapter, choosing an appropriate framework for the research often proves challenging. Literature Reviews (2007) notes that options for meeting the challenge of fitting the right frame to the study include five strategies: (1) chronological, (2) methodological, (3) thematic, (4) theoretical, and (5) by trend.

To fulfill the purpose of this study's literature review, the researcher chose to utilize the thematic strategy as the organizational method. Kemoni (2008) stresses: "The principle purpose of a literature review is to establish the academic and research areas that are of relevance to the subject of the research" (Records management section, ¶ 5). The three themes relevant to the achievement gap, drawn from the literature that the researcher summarizes and synthesizes in this chapter, include: (1) Achievement Challenges and Concerns, (2) Causes Contributing to the Achievement Gap, and (3) Overcoming the Achievement Gap.

This study focuses on causes contributing to the contemporary achievement gap in the United States, which according to research significantly impacts the performance differential between Black and White students. The following definitions relating to race apply to this study:

Black: A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.

White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East. (National Center for Education Statistics, 2009, Race/Ethnicity section, ¶ 3)

Achievement Challenges and Concerns

There are a number of factors to be researched concerning the achievement gap between African-American and Caucasian students. These factors include resource allocation and how it affects those who receive fewer resources compared to those who receive more, how low teacher expectations affect students who recognize those expectations, academic stereotyping and its subliminal effects on students, and teacher quality or the lack thereof. The educational environment in which students find themselves is also perceived as an important factor in the level of success many students attain.

There have been a number of studies conducted during the last several decades that present various reasons for the achievement gap between Black and White students, and a large number of decisions have been made using data presented by those studies. In the past, the common perception may have been that certain students, or groups of students, were less likely to achieve success due to their membership in a particular group. Stereotyping to that degree might even be a harbinger for the lack of success. A 2007 study found that "stereotype threat effects occur when members of a stigmatized group perform poorly on a task because they fear confirming a negative stereotype that is associated with their ingroup" (Spencer & Castano, 2007, p. 419). If members of a group feel that they are being looked down upon or stigmatized for being part of that group, they may begin acting out in the very manner for which they are being criticized in the first place.

David Gardner (2007), head teacher for Explorations in Math, a nonprofit group working with the Seattle schools, points out that throughout most of America's history, funding disparities between White schools and the schools serving Black students have been significant. In the journal article "Confronting the achievement gap," Gardner notes that in Black America (originally published in 1929), Scott Nearing documented numerous disparities existing in the South during the 1920s. "For example, in 1927, South Carolina spent $2.74 per 'Negro' student and $27.88 per white student. Or even more astoundingly, Mississippi counties in 1926 averaged $3.59 a year per black student as opposed to $68.15 per white student" (Gardner, ¶ 7). In eight southern cities, according to Nearing, White children had access to 162 kindergartens, while Black children could attend only eight.

The article title "What is the achievement gap and why should I care?" (2009) simultaneously poses a powerful and pertinent question. The U.S. Department of Education defines the achievement gap as "the difference in academic performance between different ethnic groups" (What is the…, 2009, ¶ 1). The achievement gap, however, constitutes a multifaceted problem that mandates investigation from numerous perspectives. Educators attending a SEDL-sponsored networking forum for mathematics and science educators assert that the achievement gap includes the following definitions:

"The difference between a child's potential and his/her actual achievement."

"The acceptance of mediocrity in expectations, values, and people."

"The unacceptable difference in achievement… and academic resources." (What is the…, 2009, ¶ 3)

Since the early 1990s, the primary National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program has evaluated student reading and mathematics performance, reflecting the extent to which student performance in these two subjects has changed over time. This documentation includes the achievement gaps noted between White and Black students.

In reading, the achievement gap between White and Black fourth-graders was smaller in 2007 than in any previous assessment. In 2007, at the fourth-grade level, Black students scored, on average, 27 points lower than White students (on a 0–500 scale). At eighth grade, there was no measurable difference in the White-Black reading achievement gap in 2007 compared with 1992 or 2005. In 2007, at the eighth-grade level, Black students scored, on average, 27 points lower on the reading assessment than White students.

In mathematics, the achievement gap between White and Black fourth-graders was lower in 2007 than in 1990, but there was no measurable change over the previous two years. Among eighth-graders, a similar trend existed: increases occurred in the 1990s before decreasing to current levels, which are not measurably different from those in 1990. The White-Black eighth-grade mathematics gap was lower in 2007 than in 2005 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2009, Supplemental Notes section).

Table 1 below is adapted from information provided by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, and notes gaps for White and Black students in average reading and mathematics scores by grade during various years from 1990 to 2007.

Causes Contributing to the Achievement Gap

Table 1: White-Black Gaps in Reading and Mathematics (adapted from National Center for Education Statistics, 2009, Learner Outcomes section).

Reading — White-Black gap, Grade 4: 32 (1992), 38 (1994), 32 (1998), 34 (2000), 30 (2002), 31 (2003), 29 (2005), 27 (2007). Grade 8: 30 (1992), 30 (1998), 26 (2002), 27 (2003), 28 (2005), 28 (2007), 27 (2007).

Mathematics — White-Black gap, Grade 4: 32 (1990), 35 (1992), 34 (1996), 31 (2000), 27 (2003), 26 (2005), 26 (2007). Grade 8: 33 (1990), 40 (1992), 41 (1996), 40 (2000), 35 (2003), 34 (2005), 32 (2007).

In the study "Black, White and Brown," Neil Foley (2004), Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, asserts that the color line continues to be drawn purposefully between Black and White populations, even though immigration and high fertility rates among newer immigrants have contributed to major demographic changes in the U.S. Educators continue to express concern about the diminishing pool of Black students who fall behind most in high school graduation rates. The 2000 census reported that of approximately 1.2 million Black eighteen-year-olds in the United States, only about 631,000 — approximately half — graduated from high school. Only 24% of all Black U.S. eighteen-year-olds met the minimum qualifications to attend college (Foley, 2004, ¶ 8).

Sonja Ralston Elder (2007), Duke University School of Law, asserts in the journal article "Standing up to legislative bullies: Separation of powers, state courts, and educational rights," that family education and income levels continue to be the best predictors of a child's future academic success. "Nationwide, minority students were only two-thirds as likely to graduate from high school as white students" (Elder, ¶ 3). Results from a study conducted by Calvin D. Phillips (2005) indicate even more negative statistics confirming the academic gap: "According to the National Education Association Higher Education Research Center, the graduation rate of African-American students within a six-year period at four-year institutions is 45.7% in comparison to White students' 66.8%" (Phillips, ¶ 2).

Low academic achievement adversely affects all aspects of society. Disparities in educational attainment contribute to disparities in household income, which in turn contributes to individuals being "poorer, less well educated, and more in need of numerous forms of state services" — which, figuratively and literally, costs other individuals. The achievement gap may also ultimately affect the U.S. negatively by causing the nation to become less competitive in an increasingly global community (What is the…, 2009). Research further indicates that the achievement gap contributes to students who are more likely to grow up unemployed, incarcerated, and poor. Consequently, a quality education proves critical for Black children (Elder, ¶ 3).

Causes contributing to the achievement gap between Black and White students include annually increasing educational targets, shifting demographics in the U.S., and the forthcoming addition of science benchmarks. These and other factors — such as teacher expectations, stereotyping, allocation of resources, high-quality teaching, and environment — contribute to the risk of continued or widening gaps (What is the…, 2009, ¶ 2).

Gloria Ladson-Billings (2007), PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, reports that some perceive the achievement gap as merely an issue of student achievement — that the student alone fails to fulfill his or her part. Ladson-Billings asserts in "Pushing past the achievement gap: An essay on the language of deficit," that the increasing pressure to achieve, stimulated by standardized testing, will likely contribute to high-performing students continuing to excel. Both Black and Hispanic/Latino seventeen-year-olds reflect the largest gaps in testing. A number of other contemporary "gaps" that affect poor Black children include significant school funding disparities:

Chicago Public Schools spends about $8,482 per pupil, while nearby Highland Park spends $17,291 per pupil. Chicago Public Schools have an 87% Black and Latino student population, while Highland Park has a 90% White population.

Per-pupil expenditures in Philadelphia are $9,299 for its 79% Black and Latino student population, while across City Line Avenue in Lower Merion the per-pupil expenditure is $17,261 for a 91% White population.

New York City Public Schools spend $11,627 per pupil for a student population that is 72% Black and Latino, while suburban Manhasset spends $22,311 for a student population that is 91% White. (Ladson-Billings, 2007, ¶ 6)

Academic outcomes reviews reflect significant differences in achievement related to ethnicity, Alexis Miranda, Linda Webb, Greg Brigman, and Paul Peluso (2007), all with Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, report in "Student success skills: A promising program to close the academic achievement gap for African-American and Latino students." During 2005, the U.S. Department of Education noted that 39% of White and 12% of Black eighth-graders were deemed proficient in reading by the end of eighth grade. At the end of eighth grade, 39% of White and only 9% of Black students were deemed proficient in math.

In the journal article "Winning methods of teachers who close the gap between black and white students," Johnnie McKinley (2006), Director of Achievement and Equity for the Puyallup (Washington) School District, notes that numerous researchers highlight the achievement Black and poor minority students accomplished when their teachers implement "reflective approaches grounded in teacher effectiveness research and culturally responsive pedagogies. In fact, these teachers adapt their knowledge, philosophies, instruction, and contextual features to students' cultures, needs, learning preferences, and prior experiences" (McKinley, 2006, Conclusion section, ¶ 1). As effective teachers recognize their students' interests, needs, talents, and working habits, they apply that knowledge to develop and implement lessons that plan for relevant individual student progress.