Closing the Gap

When schools first became segregated in the 1960s, there was a large achievement gap between African American and White students that lasted for many years after. This was due to many living in single-mother households in poverty stricken neighborhoods, being less likely to enroll in education before Kindergarten, having higher placement in remedial and vocational classes, and being less likely to be enrolled in gifted and college preparatory classes. If you look at scores from todays SATs, you will see that the gap is not as large as it used to be due to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Even though the gap is closing, there are still students that need more help. Part of this is due to the lack of funding minority schools receive. If they were able to have more funding, they would have more resources and more classes available to them. When schools are able to have more class options, the teachers that teach these classes are usually not highly qualified in these areas. The minority students are the ones that end up with the less qualified teachers when they really need the help of highly qualified ones. If schools are not able to achieve the certain passing rate of their students by 2014, the government will intervene to fix the problem (Webb, Metha, & Forbis, 2010).
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References
Webb D., Metha A., & Forbis, J. (2010). Foundations of American education. Pearson Education.

Morrison, G. America.

(2006).

Teaching in

Pearson Education.

Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it. ~Marian Wright Edelman

Education of African Americans

Lauren Biller

Historical Information
Slaves were not educated and only a few of the freed slaves were able to receive an education. In Roberts v. City of Boston (1850), the court concluded that separate but equal schools were okay and they it did not violate the rights of African American students, even though the schools were far from equal. Educational foundations like the Freedmans Bureau went to the South to build and open schools for African American children so that they could receive an education. Finally the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) case ruled that there should be no segregation in public schools. The court said that segregation caused students to feel inferior and they would not succeed as well in school as they could. This led to African Americans gaining equality in all of society and eventually to the No Child Left Behind Act which would require all students to meet the same standards (Morrison, 2006).

Philosophical Issues
Booker T. Washington was one of many African Americans that attended the Hampton Institute which was based on Industrial Education. After attending school here, he developed the idea that

Sociological Issues
Today 40.2 million African Americans make up 13.4% of the population in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by 2050, African Americans will make up 61.4 million or 15% of the United States population. Only 36% of Africans American students live with both their parents compared to 74%

African Americans should receive a practical education instead of an academic one. He then established the Tuskegee Institute where he hoped African Americans would be able to gain skills that would allow them to be self-sufficient. On the other hand, W.E.B. DuBois had a completely different view of African American education. He was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard and he believed that if African Americans only had one option (Industrial), then they were not being allowed their equality. He wanted equal schooling for African Americans and the chance to go to college (Webb, Metha, & Forbis, 2010).

of White students. This puts African American students at a greater risk for poor achievement, attendance, and behavior problems. They also usually receive disadvantaged resources so there is no real incentive for them to continue school and receive a good education. If minority schools received good resources and support, many more studnets would graduate and go on to receive a higher education (Webb, Metha, & Forbis, 2010).