I. Introduction:
“The Black-White Achievement Gap: When The Progress Stopped” is an excerpt from the section: “Adding It Up”. It was written by Paul E. Barton and Richard J. Coley in 2010. Every year, the N.A.E.P. (National Assessment of Educational Process) releases “the nation’s report card” and the media focuses on the rising and falling of grades and if the achievement gap is changing. This article goes back and follows the Black-White educational achievement and attainment gaps to the early 20th century and presents data in an effort to understand why the gaps have stopped closing over the last several decades. The main objective of this article is to guide a reader to come to a conclusion and justify why this is occurring in this society. The stratification of work and transportation is the best explanation of how and why the achievement gap stopped closing. This essay first introduces the sociological theory and the types, second, the stratification of work and transportation, and lastly the recommendations to solidify the issue of the gap and stratification.
II. …show more content…
From a functionalist perspective, stratification is beneficial to society. According to the Davis-Moore hypothesis, unequal distribution of rewards serves a purpose; it ensures that important jobs are filled with the best-qualified people. From a critical standpoint, first, it is very difficult to define jobs based on their importance. For example, if NBA players and comedians went on a strike and decided not to go to work, not that many would care to notice. If teachers, bus drivers, garbage collectors, or waitresses quit, imagine how society would be destroyed. Second, functionalism views that social stratification is fair and that the “best” people end up in the top positions, but that doesn’t always occur in reality. For example, some say that George Washington was not smart or the brightest political figure, but he was well-connected and was ascribed into a life that gained him the election
“The Black-White Achievement Gap: When The Progress Stopped” is an excerpt from the section: “Adding It Up”. It was written by Paul E. Barton and Richard J. Coley in 2010. Every year, the N.A.E.P. (National Assessment of Educational Process) releases “the nation’s report card” and the media focuses on the rising and falling of grades and if the achievement gap is changing. This article goes back and follows the Black-White educational achievement and attainment gaps to the early 20th century and presents data in an effort to understand why the gaps have stopped closing over the last several decades. The main objective of this article is to guide a reader to come to a conclusion and justify why this is occurring in this society. The stratification of work and transportation is the best explanation of how and why the achievement gap stopped closing. This essay first introduces the sociological theory and the types, second, the stratification of work and transportation, and lastly the recommendations to solidify the issue of the gap and stratification.
II. …show more content…
From a functionalist perspective, stratification is beneficial to society. According to the Davis-Moore hypothesis, unequal distribution of rewards serves a purpose; it ensures that important jobs are filled with the best-qualified people. From a critical standpoint, first, it is very difficult to define jobs based on their importance. For example, if NBA players and comedians went on a strike and decided not to go to work, not that many would care to notice. If teachers, bus drivers, garbage collectors, or waitresses quit, imagine how society would be destroyed. Second, functionalism views that social stratification is fair and that the “best” people end up in the top positions, but that doesn’t always occur in reality. For example, some say that George Washington was not smart or the brightest political figure, but he was well-connected and was ascribed into a life that gained him the election