Moreover, McEachern (2014) cited that the achievement gaps are found in all education systems. Studies, concentrated in the United States but also conducted in other countries, have considered racial and ethnic achievement gaps (Lee, 2002, 2004), urban-rural achievement gaps (Graham & Provost, 2012; Provasnik, 2007), gender achievement gaps (Benson, 2005b; Marks, 2008; Shafiq, 2011), private-public school achievement gaps (C. Lubienski, Weitzel, & S.T. Lubienski, 2009), and more. Certain groups of children may perform below average based on a variety of factors, such as poverty, family composition, teacher/school quality, school access, technology, and motivation, among others (Davis-Kean, 2005; Entwisle & Alexander, 1992; Rankin & Quane, …show more content…
In the United States, academic underachievement among children who are not fluent speakers of the predominant school language, English, is an unequivocal reality (Fry, 2008). Language-correlated achievement gaps have been characterized in other countries too. Dustmann et al. (2012) found that a language spoken at home that is not the predominant language in education is the single most important factor associated with the achievement gap between immigrants and natives of several OECD countries. Minority language students tend to perform more poorly in school than majority language peers, probably because of limited proficiency in the primary language of instruction (August & Shanahan, 2006; Kieffer, 2008). This limited proficiency can undermine students’ ability to complete school tasks (Keuhn, 1996; Vang, 2005), including science and math (Miller & Scheller, 2010). Children whose home language is the same as the school language, on the other hand, are able to transfer discussions between the two settings more easily, which could support the completion of homework and other school tasks (Hong & You, 2012). Children who hear a different language at home than the one used at school have a wide variety of possible language trajectories (Hoff, …show more content…
In the Philippines, some studies relating academic outcomes to language have been conducted. Observational studies like the First Language Component Bridging Program (FLC-BP) Pilot Project in Ifugao (1986-1993), Culture-Responsive Curriculum for Indigenous People–Third Elementary Education Project (2003-2007), Double Exposure in Mathematics Initiative of Region IV-B (2004-2007), Apo Palamguwan Cultural Education Center program in Bukidnon (since the early 1990s), and various IP education projects of the Bureau of Non-Formal Education have involved implementing some form of native language education program and tracking or observing the overall progress of its beneficiaries. The tracking of progress is often anecdotal, highlighting changes in the dynamics of the classroom including the enthusiasm of the pupils, their interest in reading, and speed in learning. The Double Exposure in Mathematics Initiative is one example of a study in which tangible achievement data was collected. The Grade 1 scores of the Regional Achievement Test in Mathematics was found to be higher in 2005 when the pupils were exposed to mathematics in both their mother tongue and English, compared with the 2004 Grade 1 cohort who were only taught in English
“The intent behind closing these gaps is to break the connection between race or family income and achievement while at the same time continuing to improve the performance of the top students. ”(28) Gaps between race and wealth have always been issues in schools. Historically, children living in poverty are more likely to score lower on tests than those
By introducing statistics such as this one, Darling-Hammond strengthens her argument within her article that a major gap in education funding causes students to achieve at different
Macke Reymond, in the video, “City Club”, describes how it is unfair to compare schools by achievement scores, without taking into account the demographics of the students. Factors that can affect overall achievement include poverty, race, special education, and English language learners. “Student’s come to school with different types of education endowments based on their backgrounds. They might have differences in their basic command of English, vocab, phonetic awareness, numeracy, and so on. These differences in knowledge affect the absolute level of knowledge they have, both when entering school and continuing on.”
This is also the cause of what we call “achievement gaps”, which is the disparity of academic performance between white students and students of a minority, along with students from low income families and those from higher income families. Jonathan Kozol and Diane Ravitch are two different writers who wrote on similar claims, however, they both had written their pieces with different strategies to convey their arguments. In “Still Separate, Still Unequal”, Jonathon Kozol berates the
Additionally, the author mentions that according to the professor’s research, the “score gap between American students and those in the highest-ranked countries” decreases by “25 percent in math and 40 percent in reading” once adjustments for the student’s socioeconomic status have been made. However, this problem is getting harder for public schools to solve as “[t]he public school population is getting poorer”. Porter then introduces Andreas Schleicher, the top educational expert of O.E.C.D who runs the PISA tests, as Schleicher firmly disagrees with Professor Carnoy’s claims. According to Professor Carnoy’s results, “fewer than 15 percent” of American students should be from families of lower socioeconomic status, but Schleicher found that “65 percent of principals in American schools say at least 30 percent of their students come from disadvantaged families”.
History of Texas accountability system A history of the accountability system in Texas provides insight into the current state of school accountability in Texas. The Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) was a criterion-based assessment created by legislative mandate in 1978 to test basic mathematics, reading and writing skills of students at grades three, five and nine. In 1983 it was mandated that ninth-grade students who failed the test had to re-test each subsequent year. Although students were not denied a diploma for failure, campus and district level performance of students was reported publicly and represented the beginning of ‘high stakes’ accountability for large-scale assessment in Texas (Texas Education Agency, Pearson Education
Since parents tend to have limited English language skills, the communication between school and parent is limited. (Huffcut 34). Hmong parents who do not speak English insist that their children communicate in their native language and keep up Hmong traditions (Vang, F. 4). First generation Hmong American college students do not perform as well as other students because of language barrier too. Students whose parents are illiterate in English or their primary language are more likely to be underachievers in school (Vang, C. 10).
Socioeconomic obstacles impede the academic achievement of students. “Hispanics have poverty rates that are two to nearly three times higher than whites; and 40 percent of their population is foreign born” (“Hispanics: Special Education and English Language Learners”). Living in poverty affects educational attainment. There is a gap in the educational outcomes because of socioeconomic status (SES). Moreover, the American Psychological Association (APA) states, “large gaps remain when minority education attainment is compared to that of Caucasian Americans”.
In Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education “Race could make or break a student's education, because teachers are less likely to understand a student's learning style, teachers are to blame the students if teachings are not working.” (Linda Darling-Hammond). “Robert Dreeben at University of Chicago did a research on, 300 Chicago first graders African-American and white students who achieved comparable levels on reading skills.” (Linda Darling-Hammond) The results of the test is comparable but the African American students wasn’t given the same level, the white students test was on level and the black student's test was below level.
There is nothing new about achievement gaps between racial and ethnic groups and between children from families at different ends of the income distribution. Such differences exist wherever there is inequality,
Within the reading of chapter four of Our Kids by Robert Putnam one key point of his argument is that it really matters where kids attend school and who they are attending school with. The overall growing class gap is extremely evident within the American school system. However, schools are not responsible for the creation of the opportunity gap because the gap already exists before schools are put into the picture. While this may be true, the schools that kids from affluent families are attending are significantly different than schools that children from poorer families are attending. This could be a product of the fact that affluent and poor families are usually not living in the same areas.
The parent’s perspective towards bilingual education was like the student’s opinions because both individuals felt immersion classrooms benefit the students and the parents. The father of Jason was proud his son was the first in his family to read, write, and speak in English. Jason’s father knew his son would have many career opportunities by learning English at school. Learning the English academic language was not the only proud language Jason’s father encouraged for Jason to learn but also the Spanish language as well. Jason’s father only speaks Spanish so if his son was to lose his home language, a language barrier would form between father and son.
Martha Peraza SOC 3340 Inequality in Education California State University, Bakersfield Abstract In the United States, there exists a gap in equality for different demographics of students. The factors contributing to educational disadvantages include socioeconomic struggles, gender of students, language or culture, and particularly for the scope of this paper, race.
But even when they didn’t learn English themselves, their children grew up speaking it. Thousands of first-generation Americans still strive to learn English, but others face reduced educational and career opportunities because they have not mastered this basic skill they need to get ahead. According to the 1990 census, 40 percent of the Hispanics born in the United States do not graduate from high school, and the Department of Education says that a lack of proficiency in English is an important factor in the drop-out rate. People and agencies that favor providing services only in foreign languages want to help people who do not speak English, but they may be doing these people a disservice by condemning them to a linguistic ghetto from which they cannot easily escape.
The United States is a place of freedom. We are a mixing pot that unifies as one. Many religions, cultures, and languages make their home in the Unites States. Many foreigners see the U.S. as an opportunity to seek better lives and education, but when it comes to foreigners and native-born non-English speakers that do not yet know English, it becomes a little more difficult to go about an average day let alone make a better future. Children in school often become English Language Learners, or ELL, to assimilate to the American standards.