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Social and Economic Inequalities: Education

Within the US education system there are clear inequalities between minority groups and the majority White population.

1. Provide evidence of inequality in terms of education in US society.

2. Explain the causes of educational inequality in the US.

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Social and Economic Inequalities: EducationIn 2007 in terms of

graduating from high school or achieving a Bachelor’s degree:

• Hispanics (42%) and Blacks (58%) have the least percentage of high school graduates.

• Whites (81%) have the most high school graduates, with Asians (32%) having the highest percentage of Bachelor degrees.

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The difference among races and cultures, both native and foreign born, in regard to those who have earned a Bachelor's degree or higher.

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Social and Economic Inequalities: Education

Causes of educational inequality

Statistics show that Whites and Asians consistently outperform Hispanics and Blacks in terms of educational attainment. Why?

1. Impact of poor neighbourhoods

A significant minority of Blacks and Hispanics live in poor areas. These areas are characterised by poor housing, unemployment, dysfunctional families, crime and drugs. Children brought up in these areas are less likely to value education or go to school hence educational attainment levels are low.

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Social and Economic Inequalities: Education2. ‘Poor Schools’ attended by many Blacks and

Hispanics have:

• Education is funded by State Government.

•Schools rely heavily on local property taxes for funding so that those in poorer areas have fewer resources.

•A lack resources for equipment such as computers. School buildings may require extensive repairs.

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•Poorer schools have problems attracting and retaining suitably qualified teachers and so classes go untaught.

• More disruptive and disaffected students making it harder for education to take place.

Also, many Americans with money send their children to expensive but high attaining private schools.

America's High School Dropout Epidemic – YouTube

One of the Most Dangerous Schools in America - YouTube

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Social and Economic Inequalities: Education

Asian American educational success

Unlike Blacks and Hispanics, most Asian Americans do well out of the US education system.

Evidence shows that Asians tend to have higher educational attainment than the White majority, although this hides the fact that some Asian groups do better than others.

For example, Japanese and Korean Americans, where education is valued, families are stable and incomes high, do best. These groups can afford to send their children to the best schools where they often excel (Asians make up 5% of US population but 10% of undergraduates.)

On the other hand, many Vietnamese and Cambodians, who are on average poorer than other Asian American groups, do very poorly in terms of education.

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No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

When Bush became president in 2000, he believed that too many public schools were failing their students. In response, the then Republican-led Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act 2001.

This Act requires schools within each state to reach a certain standard in basic skills if the state is to continue receive federal funding for education. Bush hoped that by setting high standards in education and better tracking students progress, standards would be forced up.

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Success of No Child Left Behind Act

There is fierce debate over the success of NCLB.

Supporters of the Act claim:• reading scores and scores in maths have improved at their fastest rate for many years.• reading and maths scores for Blacks and Hispanics children are at an all-time high.• the gap between Blacks/Hispanics children and White children’s scores in reading and maths are at the lowest ever levels.

Critics of the Act claim:• tests have become easier to inflate results. This is possible as the States draw up their own tests.• reading and maths scores have improved as schools ‘manipulate results’ to retain funding.• NCLB has narrowed the curriculum has States focus resources on reading and maths.

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No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

RACE TO THE TOP

• In July 2009 Obama launched Race to the Top.

• The Federal Government provided an extra $4.3 billion and states could compete for a share of the funds by submitting plans outlining reforms.

• President Obama, Secretary Duncan Announce Race to the Top - YouTube

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The four key areas of reform include:

1.Development of rigorous standards and better assessments.

2.Adoption of better data systems to provide schools, teachers, and parents with information about student progress.

3.Support for teachers and school leaders to become more effective.

4.Increased emphasis and resources for the rigorous interventions needed to turn around the lowest-performing schools.

CRITICISMS OF RACE TO THE TOP

• Some states have “over-promised”. They have not implemented the changes they stated they would.Every state has delayed some part of their grant implementation. The level of delay varies widely.

• One set of reforms does not fit all schools. Does a one-room schoolhouse in Louisiana really require the same reforms as a school in inner city Memphis?

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Questions

1. Provide three pieces of evidence of educational inequality between minority ethnic groups and the majority White population in the USA.

2. Give two reasons why Blacks and Hispanics are less likely to achieve in the US education system than Whites.

3. Why do many Asians do well out of the education system?

4. To what extent have all ethnic minority groups in the USA achieved success in education?

5. Outline the arguments for and against the success of the No child left behind Act.

Reading: pages 48-51.

Social and Economic Inequalities: Education