EDCI 6300 Multicultural Education

1
EDCI 6300 - Multicultural Education

• The Achievement Gap Why is there a Major
  Difference in the Overall Scores for Blacks and
  Whites on Achievement Tests, especially the ACT?

Summer II, 2007
Martha W. Stratton
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Overview

• Introduction
• Discussion
• Analyzing achievement
• Implications of achievement
• Minority students and achievement gaps
• Achievement equated to learning
• Factors associated with achievement
• Government regulations and standardized testing
• College readiness
• No Child Left Behind Act
• Early education and standardized tests
• Defining the ACT
• Assessing student scores
• Action Plan
• Conclusion

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Introduction

• Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 ruled that
  separate is not equal. http//www.brownvboard.org/
  
• Disparity in achievement- Black students are not
  performing up to the norm of White students.
• Affect of disparity in achievement on
  standardized tests- Black students score lower
  than White students.

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Discussion (contd)
Analyzing Achievement

• Minority students and achievement gaps
• Minority students are up and down the achievement
  scale many remain lower down than Whites
  (Barton, 2004)
• Achievement gap- performance differentials among
  various racial/ethnic groups, and between
  children from poor families and middle-class or
  rich families (Popham, 2004).
• Statewide achievement test show that the average
  test scores of Blacks and Latinos are rarely as
  high as Whites.
• Achievement (academic performance) does not
  equate to learning (environmental attributes)

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Discussion (contd)

• Factors associated with achievement
• Overt and covert messages from teachers (Nieto,
  2004)
• Before and beyond school factors (Barton, 2004)
• Birthweight
• Lead poisoning
• Hunger and nutrition
• Reading to young children
• Television watching
• Parent availability
• Student mobility
• Parent participation

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Discussion(contd)

• In school factors (Barton 2004)
• Rigor of curriculum-underrepresented in advanced
  placement classes
• Teacher experience and attendance- teachers have
  less experience and less longevity at minority
  schools
• Teacher preparation- teachers teach out of their
  areas in low-income schools.
• Class size- minority dominated classes are larger
  than majority dominated classes.
• Technology-assisted instruction-computers are
  less likely to be available to minority students.
• School safety-unsafe schools, fear and
  disruptions occur to a greater extent in
  low-income areas
• Negative stereotypes (Aronson, 2004)- teachers
  show differential treatment between Black and
  White students due to perceptions.
• Racism (Landsman, 2004)- robs minority students
  of chances for success.

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Discussion (contd)

• Confronting stereotypes and racism (White and
  Cones, 1999)
• By exploring racism intellectually
• By engaging in dialogue
• By immersing themselves in an unfamiliar culture

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Discussion(contd)

• Defining the ACT
• The ACT measures proficiencies in English,
  mathematics, reading and science the Writing
  Test is optional. http//www.act.org/aap/
• Assessing student scores
• ACT scores for Black and White students for
  1997-2006 varied by as much as 4.9 points.
• National, Average ACT Composite Scores for Black
  and White Students, 1997-2006
• Table 1
• 1997 1998 1999 2000
  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
  2006
• Black Students 17.1 17.1 17.1
  17.0 16.9 16.8 16.9 17.1
  17.0 17.7
• White Students 21.7 21.7 21.7
  21.8 21.8 21.7 21.7 21.8
  21.9 22.0
• Sourcehttp//www.act.org/news/data/97/t5-6-7.html
  .(1998-2006, same site with year substituted)

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Discussion (contd)

• Standardized testing and government regulations
• College readiness is currently inadequate for
  high school seniors (Alliance for Excellence in
  Education, 2002).
• No Child Left Behind Act mandates standardized
  testing (Ornstein Levine, 2006).
• Early education and standardized tests
• Negative factors in early education produce low
  performance by Black students on standardized
  tests.
• Negative factors in K-12 produce low scores by
  Black students on the ACT.

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Action Plan

• Using what Ive learned from this project in my
  career
• One on one advisement for freshmen and sophomore
  minority students in the Department of Biological
  Sciences at TSU
• Review high school transcripts and ACT scores for
  these students and advise appropriate course
  selection.
• Focus on students strengths when advising them
• Select alternate courses when necessary.

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Conclusion

• Reduce or eliminate achievement gaps between
  Black and White students by
• Joint efforts between students, parent,
  educators, school boards, and the federal
  government.
• Persistence with programs that work.
• Elimination of stereotypes and racism.
• Stop equating achievement to learning.
• Focus on the strengths and positive attributes of
  all minority students.
• Dont use standardized exams exclusively as
  measures of students abilities.

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References

• 2003 ACT national and state scores text
• versions of charts. Retrieved July 22, 2007,
  from http//www.act.org/news/data/03/charts/text.
  html
• 2004 ACT national and state scores text
• versions of charts. Retrieved July 22, 2007,
  from http//www.act.org/news/data/04/charts/text.
  html
• 2005 ACT national and state scores text
• versions of charts. Retrieved July 22, 2007,
  from http//www.act.org/news/data/05/charts/text.
  html
• 2006 ACT national and state scores text versions
  of selections from national report. Retrieved
  July 22, 2007, from http//www.act.org/news/data
  /06/charts/text.html
• ACT Reports (1997 2001) ACT High School
  Profile Report. Retrieved July 20, 2007
• ACT Reports 2002 ACT High School Profile.
  Retrieved July 21, 2007, from http//act.org/news
  /data/02/charts/text.html.

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References contd

• Alliance for Excellent Education. (2002). Every
  child a graduate. Washington, DC Author
• Aronson, J. (2004). The threat of stereotype.
  Educational Leadership. 62, 3. p. 14- 19.
• Barton, P. (2004). Why does the gap persist?
  Educational Leadership. 62, 3. p. 8-13.
• Brown v. Board of Education, 1954.
  http//www.brownvboard.org/
• Landsman, J. (2004). Confronting the racism of
  low expectations. Educational Leadership. 63,
  2. p. 28-32.
• Nieto, S. (2004). Affirming diversity The
  sociopolitical context of multicultural
  education. Boston Pearson, Allyn and Bacon.

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References contd

• Ornstein, A. Levine, D. (2006). Foundations of
  education. Boston Houghton Mifflin Company.
• Popham, W. J. (2004) A game without winners.
  Educational Leadership. 62, 3. p. 46-50.
• The ACT. Americas most widely accepted college
  entrance exam. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from
  http//www.act.org/aap/.
• White, J. Cones, J. (1999). Black man
  emerging Facing the past and seizing a future
  in America. Cited in Landsman, J. (2004).
  Confronting the racism of low expectations.
  Educational Leadership. 63, 2. p. 28-32.