Closing the Educational Gap - Progress Report

There is little doubt that closing the education gap is one of the single biggest challenges facing the United States education system today. It is a serious issue that is more pronounced in some states than others, and is an ongoing challenge for government and schools.

However, very real progress has been made in the past few decades and the figures show that the education achievement gap between different ethnic groups closed significantly, especially with regards to the numbers of students finishing high school.

So, let's take a closer look at the figures. Asians and Whites do better in school and college than any other races. In 1970, just below 90% of Asians and under 80% of Whites were getting high school degrees. By the mid-nineties both ethnic groups were up to about 95%, which was certainly an improvement.

In the same time period, the number of students of Mexican descent getting high school degrees rose from under 40% to about 70%. Similar improvements were seen with the number of Blacks and other Hispanics getting high school degrees. To summarize, the education gap between Whites and Blacks and Hispanics was cut in half in the 25 years between 1970 and 1995. Quite an achievement to say the least.

However, the same can not be said when it comes to the education gap at college level. In the same time frame the number of Blacks, Mexicans and Hispanics getting college degrees all improved. However, the percentage of Whites getting college degrees grew at a much faster rate so the education gap actually widened in those years.

In early 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act was passed into law. This federal law was aimed at improving the performance of primary and secondary schools by increasing accountability and giving parents more choice when it comes to picking schools for their children.

While the Act has its critics, some argue that it goes some way towards bridging the education gap as the systematic testing highlights where schools are failing to teach basic skills. This then allows the school to adapt its methods accordingly.

It is also argued that by setting high goals, this system will encourage students to rise to the challenge and improve their standard of education overall.

However, the Act seems to have made little real difference when it comes to closing the education gap and it is now likely that forthcoming amendments to the Act will hand much greater freedom back to the schools.

 

Written by: Frank J Klein - CIO

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