Abstract
There is no doubt that our society has gross achievement gaps in education. African American students statistically perform far below average compared to their White peers academically. This research paper will discuss previous findings for the causes of the achievement gaps that presently exist in our society today. There seems to be three themes that are recurrent and consistent in the existing research. Those themes revolve around race, family, socioeconomic status and quality of teaching and education in schools; which seem to be the most reoccurring and primarily identified by previous research as having the greatest impact on academic achievement among minority groups. The implications of this research are further investigated …show more content…
Previous research has also established some valid reasons as to why more African American males, specifically demonstrate lacking achievement academically; some factors that interfere with academic success are due to a lack of experience, access to resources and low-self-esteem. It is impossible to disregard the statistical evidence presented about the achievement gaps that are mostly broken down by race. Statistics that support this theory, taken from the 2003 NAEP, also known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, reported that a mere 39 percent of white students scored at proficient levels or higher at 4th grade reading levels, however, only 12 percent of black students and 14 percent of Hispanic students score in the same categories. The gap for mathematics was even higher, establishing that 42 percent Causasian students score proficient, while only 10 percent of black students and 15 percent of Hispanics scored in the same range. This huge gap is evident that there is more work that needs to be done in closing or at least narrowing the achievement gap between all students. Some of the effects of low scoring could possibly be related to additional factors. “Most of the underachievers (students with low effort, students with low grades), students with the poorest work ethic, and students with the lowest academic achievement are African American males” (Ford, Grantham, & Whiting, 2008, p.234). The educational gap between African American students and their White counterparts is not only an education problem but a socioeconomic problem that affects future generations to come and is constantly growing. It is important that students feel a connection to and can relate to the learning process being implemented to keep them engaged as they progress
There is no doubt that our society has gross achievement gaps in education. African American students statistically perform far below average compared to their White peers academically. This research paper will discuss previous findings for the causes of the achievement gaps that presently exist in our society today. There seems to be three themes that are recurrent and consistent in the existing research. Those themes revolve around race, family, socioeconomic status and quality of teaching and education in schools; which seem to be the most reoccurring and primarily identified by previous research as having the greatest impact on academic achievement among minority groups. The implications of this research are further investigated …show more content…
Previous research has also established some valid reasons as to why more African American males, specifically demonstrate lacking achievement academically; some factors that interfere with academic success are due to a lack of experience, access to resources and low-self-esteem. It is impossible to disregard the statistical evidence presented about the achievement gaps that are mostly broken down by race. Statistics that support this theory, taken from the 2003 NAEP, also known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, reported that a mere 39 percent of white students scored at proficient levels or higher at 4th grade reading levels, however, only 12 percent of black students and 14 percent of Hispanic students score in the same categories. The gap for mathematics was even higher, establishing that 42 percent Causasian students score proficient, while only 10 percent of black students and 15 percent of Hispanics scored in the same range. This huge gap is evident that there is more work that needs to be done in closing or at least narrowing the achievement gap between all students. Some of the effects of low scoring could possibly be related to additional factors. “Most of the underachievers (students with low effort, students with low grades), students with the poorest work ethic, and students with the lowest academic achievement are African American males” (Ford, Grantham, & Whiting, 2008, p.234). The educational gap between African American students and their White counterparts is not only an education problem but a socioeconomic problem that affects future generations to come and is constantly growing. It is important that students feel a connection to and can relate to the learning process being implemented to keep them engaged as they progress