Achievement Gaps in Education

469 Words2 Pages
The achievement gap of students around the nation has become a focal point of education reform efforts. Groups like The Education Trust, Democrats for Education Reform and The Education Equality Project have made it their mission to close the achievement gap. Numerous efforts to combat the gap have been made ranging from affirmative action and multicultural education to finance equalization, improving teacher quality, and school testing and accountability programs to create equal educational opportunities. Many factors contribute to achievement gaps that include cultural and economic factors, structural and institution factors, early childhood education, and amount of parental involvement. Studies show that there is a strong impact on greater academic achievement among students that attend preschool or high quality early childhood education. Additionally, those that have parental assistance with homework perform better in school. This is a problem for many minority students due to the large number of single parent households and lack of English spoken in the home. Students from single parent homes often find it difficult to find time to receive help from their parent. Just as some Hispanic students have difficulty getting help with their homework because there is not an English speaker at home to offer assistance. Minority students are more likely to come from low income households and poorer living areas resulting in the minority student to be more likely to attend poorly funded schools based on the districting patterns within the school system. Schools in lower income districts tend to employ less qualified 2 teachers and have fewer educational resources compared to students coming from middle and upper class families and homes. Many states have initiated several strategies to close the achievement gaps among children. Achievement gaps are being closely
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