Educational equity problems are complicated and have many different parts. For example, there are differences in how well minority & non-minority students do in school, gaps in opportunities, testing, and not enough students from other racial and ethnic groups in schools. In addition, influences outside of school, which are often overlooked, can also make these problems worse.
The difference between how well minority students do and what their non-minority peers do is often seen as a problem. However, even though there isn't one reason everyone agrees, studies have shown that some social, economic, and educational factors may be to blame. Some of these things are the quality of education and access to resources, which can affect how well students do.
No matter what the reason is, the performance of minority students still lags behind that of their white peers, and in some areas, the gap has grown quite a bit. In addition, urban school systems have significantly changed in the last 20 years in the United States. Tax cuts have cut the money spent per student, immigration has increased the number of students, and fewer qualified teachers are being hired.
Even though it's not a new idea that education can help any student, the truth is that there are still many gaps in education. These gaps can be so significant that they make it hard for many people to get where they want to go. These gaps make it harder for people to reach their goals, but they can also split the workforce into two groups. However, these gaps can be closed with better education and a more diverse workforce.
In education, there are two main kinds of gaps in opportunities. One is called the achievement gap, and the other is the opportunity gap. In either case, the difference shows in how well they do in school. This can be seen in students' grades, test scores, and other ways to measure their performance. It's also clear from how many people go to college.
In the United States, testing and educational equity issues are becoming more controversial. Because of the recent scandal with the COVID-19 standardized test, universities and colleges have decided that students don't have to take tests to get into their schools for the 2021-2022 admissions cycle. Standardized tests can be bad for students, especially those from low-income families, say critics. Because of this, there is a growing movement in favor of more real assessments.
Standardized tests are used on a state and national level to measure how well students are learning. This makes testing and educational equity issues very important. The testing process also lets schools and districts decide how to spend their money based on how well students do on specific tests.
Studies have shown that racial and ethnic groups aren't offered to students in a fair way in classrooms and textbooks. Even though there are some exceptions, white men tend to be the main characters in educational materials. A lot of the time, stereotypes and limited roles are also shown. Students need to see realistic and accurate pictures of other groups to understand their identities and connect to a wide range of subjects, careers, and hobbies.
In the 1960s, there were still schools for different races and ethnicities. Many Native American students were also not allowed to attend colleges or universities. But efforts to integrate schools in the country have significantly improved how well students do in school. For example, between 1970 and 1994, major national tests like the Scholastic Aptitude Test showed a significant improvement.
Educational equity is a common concern, and one way to improve learning opportunities for all students is to use data from standardized tests to find where there are gaps. Standardized testing has been going on for a long time and has been used to help make educational policies and decisions. Its original goal was to set a national, objective baseline for how well students did. The goal was to make schools run better and ensure students got the education they needed. Using standard tests in schools, on the other hand, has led to a persistent achievement gap. Data can help bring attention to differences, but it can also be used to justify unfair treatment.
Schools should look at data from many different places and use it to make decisions. This will help improve schools' performance and ensure everyone gets the same education. Using data from multiple sources can help schools determine which problems are most important and which tools can be used to solve them. The data can come from student surveys, exit tickets, lesson debriefs, and behavior observations.