Educational Inequality (WHY,WHO,HOW) By: Joshua Bonaparte

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. 

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

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