When viewing inequality in America it is easily
identifiable that it is present. The types of inequality can vary from all types
of things such as income, rights, and education. The inequality can be attributed
to numerous things. I will be focusing on the inequality in education for
members of a lower socioeconomic class and how that affects them in the long
run.
In the following text I will be describing how economic status and geographic location can attribute to educational inequality. I will also be discussing how not only do these things attribute to the issues of educational inequality but also how school tracking systems, parents attainment of education, and school evaluation systems are strengthening the unequal achievement of children in schools.
In the following text I will be describing how economic status and geographic location can attribute to educational inequality. I will also be discussing how not only do these things attribute to the issues of educational inequality but also how school tracking systems, parents attainment of education, and school evaluation systems are strengthening the unequal achievement of children in schools.
First
I will define educational inequality. It is defined as: the difference in the
learning results, or efficacy, experienced by students coming from different
groups. Members of a higher socioeconomic
status tend to preform higher in academics than those from the lower class. The
main question is why this problem is trending and what can we do to combat it. Why
is it that those who have less economic stability succeed at a lesser rate than
those who have a high amount of it? One reason can be the level of education
obtained by the parents. “Among parents or caregivers, more than half of those
in higher-income families hold at minimum a Bachelor’s degree whereas more than
half of those in low-income families hold at most a high school diploma”(Harway).
Households that have members who have finished some form of higher education
can help their children to succeed more effectively because they have already
been through the systems of higher education. The people who have obtained
college degrees are familiar with the types of things needed to succeed. A
parent who is well educated will not only be able to teach the child the
importance of education but help them also obtain it. Households where the
parents have not finished high school or only obtained a GED instantly put the
child of the household at a disadvantage.
With
it being known that people who grow up in higher income homes succeed at a
higher rate in school than those that do not we must look as to why this is occurring.
“Compared to better-off children, poor kids are more likely to be exposed to
pollution, toxins, noise and crime” (Harway). “They are more likely to
experience family instability and separation, as well as hunger and violence” (Harway).
A person in a lower socioeconomic setting will face more outside obstacles than
a child who is in a higher economic status. A member of the lower class has to
worry more about surviving and faces more distractions in regards to learning.
Compared to a higher socioeconomic family who not only has the time to focus on
education but the resources to seek extra help if needed.
School
institutions, practices and treatments towards race also play a large role in
this growing inequality issue. There is a growing pattern in the United States
in which poorly preforming schools are predominantly ethnic while higher
performing schools are mostly white. On top of this fact these differences also
fall in to inequality in income. The predominantly ethnic schools tend to be in
the lower socioeconomic areas while the predominantly white schools are in
higher class areas. A report published in the Washington post titled “The
Rotting Apple” states that in New York “a black or Hispanic student is nearly
four times more likely to be enrolled in one of the city’s poorest performing
high schools than an Asian or white, non-Hispanic student”. Not only does it
discuss that but it talks about how the best schools are in good neighborhoods
and the worst schools are in bad neighborhoods. Due to the poor performance of
the lower income area schools cut backs and closures of schools have been occurring
in these low income areas. The cut backs and closures only strengthen the
educational inequality because it makes it harder for the people from these
neighborhoods to continue schooling as their local educational facilities get
shut down.
Another
policy used by school systems that creates educational inequality is the
tracking system. From a young age students often are put on a specific track
based on performance. Sub sets of students and classes are often classified in
something similar to gifted, grade level, intensive. Tracking leads to a lower motivation for
students to succeed. If a child identifies that he or she is preforming at a
lower tack or being challenged less they will begin to perform poorly because
of it. “Those on the lower tracks, a steady diet of lower expectations leads to
a steadily low level of motivation toward school” (Education Week). A child who is constantly challenged will
continue to be motivated to obtain education while in the contrasting instance a child
never challenged will not yearn for knowledge. A gifted program student is
getting a better education because it is believed that they are capable and
deserve it. An intensive student is receiving a simplified education because is
it believed they cannot handle a challenging one. This creates a huge
inequality in not only the education received but the value of it. When viewing
these programs much like economic inequality the distribution of races is
highly similar. Non ethnic students are more likely to be picked for gifted
programs than those who are ethnic. “Students from low-income New York City
families of all ethnic groups have little chance of being tested for
gifted-and-talented program eligibility” (Washington Post).
In conclusion inequality is a growing issue. Not only is
this issue growing in relation to economic income but it is also growing with
education. More and more ethnic students from lower income areas are succeeding
at a much lower rate than their non ethnic higher class counterparts. In order
to reverse these trends we must look at the institutions and practices of
schools like tracking and school efficiency testing. If not more schools in
areas that need the most help will be shut down due to poor performance and
more students will be denied their basic right to education by being tracked
into a route that offers no type of educational value other than a high school diploma.
Sources: Lack of Education- Alina Harway http://thesockeye.org/2013/11/04/lack-of-education-opportunities-income-inequality/
Tracking- Education Week- http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/tracking/
Why Education Inequality Persists - And How To Fix It- Washington Post- Jackson & Noguera- http://www.schottfoundation.org/media-center/why-education-inequality-persists-and-how-to-fix-it
Inequality in the United States- Klasen- http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=453b2094-b048-4e3a-84f2-a55ab74f364f%40sessionmgr111&hid=120
PHOTOS: First two from the Harway article
http://www.thenextgeneration.org/images/adhoc/aecf_infographic.png
http://www.marketplace.org/sites/default/files/georgetown_infov2_1.jpg
