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Educational Inequality in America

Garom and Bruch, (1) state that in most English speaking states, including America, educational inequality remains a major concern. In the last 3 decades, the nations have experienced increased inequality in various levels. Despite the increase in inequality research publications, research on the manner in which to minimize inequality remains more of an exception than a rule. Inequality is evident in the academic performance distinctions or the achievement gap between different racial and ethnic groups. Garom and Bruch, (1) argue that moving beyond the trends need a powerful capacity for a study on minimizing inequality such as wider and more incorporated strategies to study educational inequality, more diverse voices for advocating for inequality, and additional funding for the research. Therefore, schools, government, and other stakeholders must address all the factors contributing to educational inequalities and the performance difference among students in America to ensure effective learning.

Reardon, Waldfogel, and Bassok, (230-242) claim that educational inequality still remains evident in the US, however, it has significantly reduced because US citizens continue to become aware of the significance of education. The authors state that in the 1990s, America issued educational resource to some classes and the minority students and low-income earners failed to access standard education. Today’s students have access to more materials, computer games and the internet increasing their knowledge. The authors note that the situation has changed, although it remains evident in some schools. Additionally, parents spend additional time with their children and assist them in their learning. The readiness gap has decreased by 16% in reading and 10% in math. More so, low income households can access quality education more easily compared to the past. However, the remaining gap still remain vast and can take many years to close it completely.

Garom and Bruch, (3) state that discovering research-based resolutions for bridging the achievement gap remain a challenge. The demographic shift of the learners in public schools continues to accelerate the issue. The racial/ethnic achievement gap in America defines the disparities existing in education between different ethnic/racial groups. The achievement gap remains evident in Hispanics and Blacks, including in high school dropout, a lower score on standardized tests, and lower grades. They also may not finish their college education compared to the Whites who score lower than the Asians from developed states such as China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, and Taiwan. Students in America continue to make significant academic achievement over the last forty-five years. However, the ethnic/racial achievement gap exists due to the fact that not all learners advance and develop at similar rates.

According to Berliner, (par. 1), Bourdieu analyzed the post Second World War public policies of extending educational opportunities to eliminate social inequalities and discovered that despite the efforts in the Western nations, there still remain inequalities in status, income and wealth. Instead of equalizing, the education system reproduces the bias distribution of inherited cultural distinctions. More so, the out-of-school factors connected to poverty remain the primary cause of the achievement gap among the low income and minority communities. Research indicates that poverty influences the readiness for school and school readiness reflect the capacity of success socially as well as academically in a school setting.

Garom and Bruch, (8) claim that in America, narrowing the achievement gap between the non-minority and the minority population remain the key objectives in the education systems in America, hence enhancing the academic achievement of the minority learners via various procedures, policies, and laws. One of the policies includes the No Child Left Behind Act began the transformation to performance. Another policy entails the Race to The Top that promotes transformative modification within learning centers, enhances classroom resources and practices and targets leveraging. However, despite the efforts, the performance gap among the minority groups still remains despite the efforts.

National Education Association (par. 5) observes that Critical Race Theory indicate that in the 21st-century education in America possess a widening gap and the gap is accelerated by the deregulation and economic policies which can be tracked from President Regan reign as well as Clinton which passed the anti-worker policy. The Bush reign supported the main businesses and offered tax-free breaks for the wealthy compared to the middle and lower individuals. The adaptation of the social justice policies in the US education system results in equal opportunities to the learners. However, there still exist disparities as some schools are meant for the rich and others in the low-income population. The social-economic status of a household tends to determine the type of school the children will attend in addition to the selection of their extra-curricular activities, yearbooks field trips and the money for advanced placement among others.

According to Berliner, (par. 3), there exists 6 out-of-school factors evident among low-income households and significantly influence the learning and health opportunities of the children. They include insufficient medical, vision and dental care due to lack of medical insurance, non-genetic prenatal effects and low-birth weight in children, environmental pollutants, food insecurity, neighborhood attributes, and family stress and relations. They are connected to poverty-induced psychological, sociological and physical issues that kids bring to school, including oppositional behaviors, linguistic underdevelopment, excessive absenteeism, attention disorder, and neurological damage. The out-of-school factors connected to poverty remain the primary cause of the achievement gap among the low income and minority communities.

Ferguson, Bovaird, & Mueller, (20) claim that the factors develop an obstacle for learning institutions lying outside their influence and beyond their control. Most out-of-school programs aimed at addressing the issues through summer learning, after-school and preschool programs. However, insufficient funds, academic help, and attendance limit the efforts. Therefore, Berliner argues that efforts to address the issue at the school level do not address the detailed and interwoven elements that prevent learning success. Therefore, schools, government, and other stakeholders must address all the factors to ensure effective learning.

In conclusion, schools, government, and other stakeholders must address all the factors contributing to educational inequalities and the performance difference among students in America to ensure effective learning. The inequality is evident in the academic performance distinctions or the achievement gap between different racial and ethnic groups. The adaptation of the social justice policies in the US education system results in equal opportunities to the learners. However, there still exist disparities as some schools are meant for the rich and others in the low-income population. The social-economic status of a household tends to determine the type of school the children will attend in addition to the selection of their extra-curricular activities, yearbooks field trips and the money for advanced placement among others. Moving beyond the trends need a powerful capacity for a study on minimizing inequality such as wider and more incorporated strategies to study educational inequality, more diverse voices for advocating for inequality, and additional funding for the research.

Works Cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Berliner, D. "Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success." National Education Policy Center. 2009. Web Accessed: 2 March 2019.

Ferguson, H, S Bovaird and M Mueller. "The Impact of Poverty on Educational Outcomes for Children." Paediatr Child Health. 2007 Oct; 12(8): 701–706. 2007. Web Accessed: 2 March 2019. 2 March 2019.

Garom, A and S Bruch. "Educational Inequality in the United States: Can We Reverse the Tide?" Journal of Education and Work, 30, (7). 2017. Web Accessed: 2 March 2019. 2 March 2019.

National Education Association. "Out-Of-School Factors Influence Student Achievement." National Education Association. 2018. Web Accessed: 2 March 2019. 2 March 2019.

Reardon, S., Waldfogel, J. and Bassok, D. “The Good News about Educational Inequality.” Greene, Staurt and April Lidinsky. From Inquiry To Academic Writing. Macmillan. 2018. 2 March 2019.