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Equality in the American School System

AMS 10022
14021518

An American high school can be seen as a microcosm of America as a whole. In schools,

one can see religious, moral, class, and racial differences that represent the geographic area they
are located in. Equality can be seen as a striking theme in the American education system, which
when compared to the education system in the United Kingdom becomes uniquely obvious.
Culture differences reveal aspects of American school that act as an accurate representation of
American values in general. This essay will examine the specific American moral view of
equality in schools, including how schools prepare students for life after school and special
education.
Through the years, many methods have been tried in schools to give students equal
opportunities to move forward in life. Joel Spring, author of American Education says, Life is a
competitive race with school being the starting point (Spring. 2014, p. 58). The first method
attempted was the common-school model, in which all students were given the same education.
This model was supposed to give all students an equal opportunity to achieve, but it was not
effective because there are other factors that influence how a student fares in school (Spring,
2014). The socioeconomic status of the family the student comes from influences the learning
they achieve outside of the classroom. For example, a student from a wealthy family is more
likely to be read to by a family member and have access to other learning material like books and
puzzles. A student from a poor family might not have access to any books or learning material
outside of the classroom (Spring, 2014).
The second method that was attempted in schools was the sorting-machine model. In this
model, students were sorted into classes by ability level. This was supposed to eliminate
inequality due to socioeconomic differences. Student were put on a course towards whatever job
the teachers thought they would be best suited for, which could be vocational, farming,

government work, or college preparation (Spring, 2014). Because students were being grouped
for different jobs, the education they received was not equal, so another method was attempted.
The third method is one that is still predominantly used in modern American schools, and it is
called the high-stakes testing model. This method involves testing students every year over what
they have learned in the classroom. This is meant to equalize the students because they were all
supposed to have learned the same material (Spring, 2014). The high stakes testing in schools
culminates with a big test before graduation. The results from that test can then be given to
universities to determine whether or not they will accept a student. With the results, a school
admissions faculty member or an employer is supposed to be able to tell right away how
intelligent and capable a candidate is (Spring, 2014).
All of these methods were created to equalize the opportunities for students. Instead,
most United States school systems have ended up with a combination of the three methods. The
combination is still unequal, but the goal for equality of opportunity remains. Tracking and
ability grouping have become common practice in American schools. Teachers will use the
results from the high-stakes tests to place students in what they think is the appropriate class for
a particular student. The classes and groups that the students are placed into usually separate
them into vocational, university preparation, or general curricula. The education that each group
receives will not be equal to the education any of the other groups receive, but the education they
receive should be appropriate for their ability or intelligence (Spring, 2014).
Despite the unequal education that the groups receive, in the United States all students
are expected to graduate and move on to some kind of higher education. I grew up in the United
States, so speaking from my own experience, I know that dropping out of school is seriously
looked down upon. Americans value hard work and ambition; pushing oneself to move up

socially, economically, or in some other way is accepted and common. Dropping out of school is
seen as giving up, which goes against the American value of working hard to better your
situation in life. This concept is very different from what I have observed of schools in England.
In England, students are grouped based on their ability and then have a choice at the age of
sixteen of going to a sixth form for college preparation, going to a vocational school, or dropping
out. The percentage of students that are in the group that is preparing for university is much
lower than the percentage in the United States. English schools determine early-on whether or
not a student is capable of succeeding at university. Because they do this, the percentage of
students who graduate from university is much higher than the percentage in the United States.
The American view of equality drives its young students and school administrators to push for
high numbers of students going to university. Higher numbers of students at university equals
success in the eyes of most Americans.
Over the last few decades, equality of education for students with disabilities has been a
major focus in the United States. The battle for equality began in the 1960s with the influence of
the civil rights movement. Since the eighteen-hundreds, people with disabilities had been
mistreated and forced to live in institutions (Spring, 2014). Organizations were founded to bring
change for students with special needs who had been excluded from schools. An organization
called the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) made a breakthrough with a
court case against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the late nineteen-sixties (Spring, 2014).
Their lawyers were able to give overwhelming evidence that children with disabilities could be
educated. The state withdrew its case and the court ruled that Pennsylvania public schools could
no longer exclude students with disabilities and required that all children be given access to a

public education (Spring, 2014). This case got the ball rolling for other states to file similar
cases.
The fight for equal education for disabled students reached Congress, and in 1975,
Congress passed Public Law 94-142, also called the Education for All Handicapped Children
Act. This act guaranteed equal educational opportunity for all students with special needs. The
name of the act was changed to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990
(Spring, 2014). A major part of this act included the opportunity for all children with disabilities
to be included in regular classes. The phrase free appropriate public education also emerged, and
was meant to express that all children are legally entitled to a free public education that meets
their specific needs, no matter the severity of their disability. Part of ensuring that the education
the child receives is appropriate was the creation of an individualized education plan, or IEP
(Spring, 2014). The IEP is created by the teachers of the student with the input of the childs
parents or guardians with the goal of determining the needs of the student and how best to meet
them (Spring, 2014).
An IEP will usually include inclusion in a regular classroom. Inclusion in this context
means the integration of children with disabilities into regular classes. It is believed that the
isolation of children with disabilities often deprives them of contact with other students and
denies them access to equipment found in regular classrooms, such as scientific equipment,
audiovisual aids, classroom libraries, and computers (Spring. 2014, p. 122). Including disabled
students in regular classrooms would improve their educational achievement and social
development. It is also hoped that inclusion would help regular students by allowing for
interaction with disabled students that they would not have otherwise had. Increased interaction

with students with disabilities should give non-disabled students a better appreciation and
understanding of people with disabilities (Spring, 2014).
Of course, students with disabilities cannot be thrown into a regular classroom and be
expected to fend for themselves, so special help like an assistant or learning tools are provided
for those students. Included in IDEA was the requirement that teachers would be provided with
additional training on how teach special students. Funding was an issue, however, and some
teachers were never specially trained (Spring 2014). As a result, some Americans are against
inclusion of students with disabilities in a regular classroom. Some people are not satisfied with
the education the disabled students receive in a regular classroom, and some people believe
inclusion detracts from the education that regular students receive. Some parents of disabled
children believe that their child should be in a separate vocational program that prepares students
to hold low-level jobs (Spring, 2014). Inclusion is still a highly debated practice in the
educational community.
For some Americans, inclusion is seen as the ultimate goal for equality in education for
students with disabilities. Many Americans believe that inclusion will give disabled students a
more equal chance in life after school. There is no special education version of the world, so they
believe that disabled students should be exposed and incorporated into the regular community
from an early age. This differs greatly from the experiences I had observing schools in England.
While students with disabilities could be included in regular classrooms, they could also choose
to go to a school specifically for students with disabilities. For some students with severe
disabilities, the separate school made complete sense to me, but there were other students that
had they lived in the United States would definitely be placed in a regular school. For example,
there was one boy in a class I observed that had a learning disability and was bullied because of

it in his previous regular school. He became socially withdrawn and transferred to the special
school. The special school helped him overcome his social insecurities, but he wasnt challenged
academically as a result. If this student went to school in the United States, he would have been
included in a regular classroom and been given special support for his learning and social needs.
Like the practice of separating students early-on according to whether or not they are
likely to go to university, it is also common to separate students based on disabilities in the
United Kingdom. This separation is not considered segregation but rather an effective way to
appropriately teach students according to the path they are most likely heading down in life. In
contrast with this idea, the United States has an obsession with giving people an equal chance in
life, regardless of their background or any special circumstances they have. Americans believe
that if you possess the willpower, you can improve your situation in life. This value carries over
into the educational system. Students are encouraged to apply to go to university because having
a degree is supposed to help you achieve more in life and make more money. Educators want to
give every student their best chance in life. Joel Spring concludes his chapter by saying, In the
areas of race, gender, and children with disabilities, there have been important improvements in
education since the nineteenth century. The dynamic of social change requires an active concern
about the denial of equality of opportunity and equality of educational opportunity (Spring.
2014, p. 127). The concern for equality of opportunity in the United States shows how important
equality is in American culture. The American school system can be seen as a microcosm of the
United States as a whole, and perfectly showcases the importance of equality in American
culture.

Source
Spring, J. (2014). American Education. 16th ed. New York City: McGraw-Hill, pp.57-78, 118127.