Black American males experience academic disengagement within schools (Smalls et al., 2012; Chavous et al., 2008; Dotterer et al., 2009; Wong et al., 2003), which has ultimately gotten them suspended or placed into special education tracks at disproportionate rates (Morris & Perry, 2016; Gibson et al., 2014; Guy, 2014; Noguera, 2014; Davis et al., 1994; Carter & Wilson, 1992; Garibaldi, 1992; Polite, 1993). Likewise, few of these males show up in gifted tracks, Advance Placement courses, and higher education institutions (Williams & Hilton, 2015). To address the achievement gap in education, many scholars and practitioners have turned to creating a more rigorous curriculum (Palumbo et al., 2012; Gewertz, 2010). However, the more rigorous curriculum
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933). The post-Brown v. Board era has been defined by policies such as NCLB and Common Core. First, NCLB has targeted low performing schools, which happened to mostly enroll Black and Brown students. The NCLB policy mandated higher stakes testing, which also penalized schools that were already struggling academically. This created a dichotomy between trying to increase achievement for Blacks and penalizing the schools that enrolled them. A majority of White students attend schools that have greater financial resources and these schools tend to have better academic performance, which parlays into incentives gained from NCLB. Even if schools are racially diverse, tracking, Advance Placement courses, and special education courses often create segregated classrooms. The former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige stated, “We still have a two-tiered public education system. Some fortunate students receive a world-class education. But millions are mired in mediocrity, denied a high-quality education. Most are children of color. This is not the legacy of Brown we imagined” (Paige, 2004, p. 9A). Paige’s comment highlights the ill effects of Brown after over 50 years of legal desegregation; …show more content…
Rural children tend to do much more poorly on standardized tests than their non-rural counterparts. NCLB reports reveal that children in rural communities are outperformed by their non-rural counterparts in early learning and cognitive development. Additionally, the “Rural Families Data Center (2010 as cited by Bailey, 2013, p. 391) found that the achievement gap of rural children is seemingly due to many of the factors that contribute to the poor academic conditions of urban children, which are excessive school absence/truancy, families’ low-socioeconomic status resulting from adverse conditions of employment, high poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, and increasing rates of high school dropout.” Bailey (2013) explores the achievement gap for Black Americans through Common Core implications. For example, 40 percent of non-rural White elementary children were deemed proficient at beginning sounds, whereas only 25 percent of rural White elementary children were. Comparatively, 20 percent of non-rural Black elementary children were proficient on this standard, and only 5 percent of Black rural children were. Bailey (2013) suggests that “building upon young children’s prior knowledge, and infusing the CCSS (Common Core State Standards) might be suitable for addressing learning deficiencies in the early grades, especially for underrepresented learners in rural settings who frequently lack
933). The post-Brown v. Board era has been defined by policies such as NCLB and Common Core. First, NCLB has targeted low performing schools, which happened to mostly enroll Black and Brown students. The NCLB policy mandated higher stakes testing, which also penalized schools that were already struggling academically. This created a dichotomy between trying to increase achievement for Blacks and penalizing the schools that enrolled them. A majority of White students attend schools that have greater financial resources and these schools tend to have better academic performance, which parlays into incentives gained from NCLB. Even if schools are racially diverse, tracking, Advance Placement courses, and special education courses often create segregated classrooms. The former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige stated, “We still have a two-tiered public education system. Some fortunate students receive a world-class education. But millions are mired in mediocrity, denied a high-quality education. Most are children of color. This is not the legacy of Brown we imagined” (Paige, 2004, p. 9A). Paige’s comment highlights the ill effects of Brown after over 50 years of legal desegregation; …show more content…
Rural children tend to do much more poorly on standardized tests than their non-rural counterparts. NCLB reports reveal that children in rural communities are outperformed by their non-rural counterparts in early learning and cognitive development. Additionally, the “Rural Families Data Center (2010 as cited by Bailey, 2013, p. 391) found that the achievement gap of rural children is seemingly due to many of the factors that contribute to the poor academic conditions of urban children, which are excessive school absence/truancy, families’ low-socioeconomic status resulting from adverse conditions of employment, high poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, and increasing rates of high school dropout.” Bailey (2013) explores the achievement gap for Black Americans through Common Core implications. For example, 40 percent of non-rural White elementary children were deemed proficient at beginning sounds, whereas only 25 percent of rural White elementary children were. Comparatively, 20 percent of non-rural Black elementary children were proficient on this standard, and only 5 percent of Black rural children were. Bailey (2013) suggests that “building upon young children’s prior knowledge, and infusing the CCSS (Common Core State Standards) might be suitable for addressing learning deficiencies in the early grades, especially for underrepresented learners in rural settings who frequently lack