In 1917, when Mississippi was the last US state to enact a mandatory schooling law, many thought it was the end to education inequality in America. Others thought it was in 1954, with the ruling of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. In reality, academic justice has not been served just yet.
Academic inequality is not a new issue. Many people have experienced this injustice, but this issue affects BIPOC (Black, Indigineous, people of color) women and men disproportionately. This issue comes in the form of the opportunity gap. This gap differs between racial groups, but is defined by the amount of opportunities available for one to succeed. What causes these gaps? Who is to blame? What can we do to fix it? These gaps are caused by many factors, is perpetuated by academic systems and the government, but can be eventually improved with group effort.
Poverty and racism are huge factors when it comes to the opportunity gap. Research shows that low-income students are more likely to attend underfunded schools. This stems from a long history of housing discrimination, job discrimination, segregation, and Jim Crow laws targeting Black and Latino families. According to a study conducted by The Century Foundation in 2020, over 30 million students attending American public schools are underfunded by 150 billion dollars annually. The majority of underfunded schools in America reach at least a 65% Latino and Black population. If underfunded schools don’t have the tools to teach students, how will the students reach their full potential? How can we claim we are setting our students up for success when we are setting up our teachers for failure? We live in a fast-paced world with growing industries like technology, medicine, science, law, etc. Without ample technology, reading material, art tools, and academic resources, Title 1(a phrase used to identify schools with a high percentage of low-income students) teachers and students find themselves deprived of academic efficiency. Regardless of career path, each student should have the opportunity to perform on a level playing field.
Although it is counterproductive to point fingers, it is important that we recognize who and what is upholding these cycles and gaps. Our taxes are meant to contribute towards public education, but as stated above, a considerable number of public schools are not receiving the funds needed to properly educate students. Our government must do more to redistribute funds to better serve our public schools. Our government must be willing to invest in every student and teacher, regardless of wealth, power, or race.
The government is not the only contributor–in fact, universities and for-profit college entrance exams also have a part in this issue. The SAT and ACT should sound familiar to almost any person who attends or has attended high school in the United States. Many argue that these exams are a good way for universities to objectively select competent students for entrance, but Forbes uncovered research showing that these tests may not be the best college entrance tool. In a 2015 study, research showed that students with a family income of 20 thousand dollars or less scored lower on both the ACT and SAT in comparison to their more privileged peers. Clearly, there seems to be a trend. The higher your socio-economic status, the better you may do on the SAT and ACT. Why should people care about this gap? What does money have to do with it? Shouldn’t these kids just work harder?
Let’s look at test preparation. The students with the highest scores usually, not always, take months, if not years, of SAT and ACT preparatory courses. These rigorous programs can be ridiculously expensive. If basic education cannot give one the tools to prepare for an important exam, how are the SAT and ACT tests fair for anyone? If money is required to excel, what message does that send to marginalized students? At this point, Title 1 students are left vulnerable to falling behind their more privileged peers, and in some cases, don’t have the social nor financial support to attempt and succeed on these exams. Even the College Board confirmed that paid preparation programs do increase scores and performance.
This issue is going to take a lot of work to solve, but first, we all must realize what kind of harm this puts on underprivileged children, especially Black and Latino kids. Without a solid education, these students will most likely continue in the cycle of poverty. It is up to us to break the cycle, properly invest in public education, make college entrance exams more inclusive, and level the playing field. By investing in our students, we are investing in a brighter future.
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