What is the Achievement Gap?
The "achievement gap" is defined as the disparity in academic performance across groups of students, most often by socioeconomic class and race. It shows up in grades, standardized test scores, graduation (or dropout) rates, college-completion rates, disciplinary infractions, and other measures of academic success. The historic ruling in the case of Brown V. Board of Education in 1954 had overturned the decision of Plessy V. Ferguson, which had upheld the constitutionality of "separate but equal" facilities for White and Black citizens. The Supreme Court Justices for the Brown case had unanimously decided that as it pertained to public education, separate would be inherently unequal. However, despite the Supreme Court's attempts at desegregating the schooling system and providing all children with equal educational opportunities 60 years ago, the education system continues to underserve low-income and minority children across the country today. This is clearly evidenced through the persistence of the gaps in achievement between racial and socioeconomic groups.
Ever since the 1966 publication of the report Equality of Educational Opportunity, better known as the "Coleman Report", research in the United States has been dedicated to studying the underlying causes of the gaps in achievement between children of different races and income levels. Through this sustained research, several major factors have been identified as playing critical roles in the determination of a student's individual achievement. These factors include, but are not limited to, income inequality leading to reduced access to many of the critical elements that contribute to stronger educational achievement, lower quality schools and inferior educational resources and opportunities in economically disadvantaged schools, minority status leading to institutionalized predispositions that negatively affect achievement, the disproportionate representation of minority and lower-income students in the lowest-achieving schools and lowest-level academic classes, and familial factors that reduce academic motivation.
Ever since the 1966 publication of the report Equality of Educational Opportunity, better known as the "Coleman Report", research in the United States has been dedicated to studying the underlying causes of the gaps in achievement between children of different races and income levels. Through this sustained research, several major factors have been identified as playing critical roles in the determination of a student's individual achievement. These factors include, but are not limited to, income inequality leading to reduced access to many of the critical elements that contribute to stronger educational achievement, lower quality schools and inferior educational resources and opportunities in economically disadvantaged schools, minority status leading to institutionalized predispositions that negatively affect achievement, the disproportionate representation of minority and lower-income students in the lowest-achieving schools and lowest-level academic classes, and familial factors that reduce academic motivation.