Foundations and Current Issues of Early Childhood Education/Chapter 1/1.3

The achievement gap issue between poor minority children and middle class white children is a highly important educational challenge; one which needs to be addressed. Even though poor children are given the same public school education as middle class children they often are not as successful. Explanations and the concern for the occurrence of the achievement gap vary and have become controversial, especially since the effort to close the achievement gap has suggested the need for education reform. This article suggests social-class trends which widen the gap and those practices which help close the gap.

Definition

The achievement gap is defined as the academic incongruence among social-class groups. Specifically, the gap in academic performance is between white middle-class and low-income minority students. The achievement gap can be assessed on standardized test scores, grade point average, dropout rates, and college enrollment and completion rates.

The achievement gap extends and widens across the U.S. between minority students and white students.

“The National Assessments of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicates that African-American and Latino students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are two years behind other students in the fourth grade. By twelfth grade, the gap has widened even further, with these students lagging nearly four years behind.” (White-Clark).

Low income and skin color alone do not influence academic achievement, however they are factors which define social-class; which unavoidably influence achievement. For instance, the reading gap begins at home and is affected by the involvement of the parents. Children whose parents have only a high school diploma or less are read to less often than those children of educated parents, who benefit from daily reading experiences (Rothstein). It’s feasible to conclude that when these children start school together the achievement gap begins. It is likely that the child who has had more reading experiences is easier to teach and will read earlier than the child who is just beginning to hold a book.

“Children reared by parents who are professionals will, on average, have more inquisitive attitudes toward material presented by teachers than will children reared by working-class parents” (Rothstein). Middle-class parents are more likely to have professional work experiences which involve collaboration and effective communication skills. Parents then use these problem solving, communicative skills with their children. However, working-class parents on average have jobs that require them to follow instructions, leaving little room for questioning. This behavior therefore is taught to their children.

Another factor which contributes to the achievement gap includes the health and housing gaps. low-income children have overall poorer health attributed by prenatal conditions, poorly trained eye sight due to watching too much television, asthma and lead poisoning due to poor living conditions and inadequate health care (Rothstein). Also, low-income children are more likely to miss school for relatively minor sickness due to the fact that there are fewer primary-care physicians in low-income communities. The achievement gap widens as adequate housing becomes increasingly unaffordable and the family is forced to become mobile. By changing schools often the child of the low-income family has to catch up on school material as well as adjust to the transition (Rothstein).

Closing the Gap

While more than one-third of today's public school students are people of color and by 2025 it has been projected that figure will reach 49%, the number of minority teachers are decreasing (approximately 13% of teachers are of minority descent and more than 40% of the schools across America have no minority teachers) (White-Clark). These statistics may negatively affect the achievement gap if non-minority teachers have not been sufficiently prepared to teach minority students.

Professional development on the issue of diversity is a promising approach to closing the achievement gaps of diverse students. Administrators need to be the supportive link by providing professional development opportunities as well as being a positive role model for their teachers. One professional development model which supports diversity instruction is The Reflection-Instruction-Collaboration-Supportive Model (RICS) (White-Clark). It includes the following elements: reflection, instruction, collaboration and support. This model offers reflective activities for teachers to become self-aware of personal perceptions and attitudes about working in a diverse school setting, and their expectations of their students, it also includes specific instructional strategies that will enhance the achievement of culturally diverse students, it works to build strong collaborative work cultures that will develop long-term capacity for change and a support system which increases teachers' self-efficacy and encourages them to initiate and implement effective strategies for school. (White-Clark).

Also, early childhood programs play a large role in preventing achievement gaps, especially at the start of kindergarten, throughout school and into the work place. Long-term studies on the benefits of early childhood development should be reviewed. Four such studies are: the Perry Preschool Project, the Prenatal Early Infancy Project, the Abecedarian Early Childhood Intervention, and the Chicago Child-Parent Center Program.

These studies all show that children enrolled in high-quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs are more successful in school and in life than those children who were not enrolled in such programs (Lynch). The studies also established that children who have participated in high-quality ECD programs have higher scores on math and reading, have greater language skills, have less grade retention, have less need for special education, improved nutrition, have lower drop out rates, higher levels of schooling attainment and students are entering school “ready to learn”(Lynch).

Also, research data collected from a program titled “The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study” shows evidence that those children who attended preschool out performed children who did not attend preschool on standardized tests (High Scope Resource, 2006). Research also shows that children who attend preschool will do better in school, attend college, have better jobs, pay more on taxes and will even be better parents (Clothier and Poppe, 2006).

It’s imperative for low-income minority students to be given the opportunity to experience similar social-class trends as middle-class students in order to close the gap or prevent the achievement gap before the start of school.

Why would these ECD programs close the achievement gap? To narrow the gap, early childhood care, needs to begin with infants and toddlers, should be provided by adults who can offer the kind of intellectual environment that is typically experienced by middle class infants and toddlers (Rothstein).

Citations

Clothier, Steffanie, and Poppe, Julie 2006. The Preschool Promise. Annual Editions, Early Childhood Education 06/07, pg 14-17.

Lynch, Robert G. 2006. Preschool Pays. Annual Editions, Early Childhood Education 06/07, pg 3-7

Rothstein, Richard. (December 2004) Wising Up on the Black-White Achievement Gap. Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, v70 n4 p27- 36. Retrieved March 10, 2007, ERIC database

Rothstein, Richard 2006. Class and the Classroom. Annual Editions, Early Childhood Education 06/07, pg 18-22

White-Clark, Renee September 2006. Training Teachers to Succeed in a Multicultural Classroom. Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, v70 n8 p23-26 Apr 2005. 4 pp. Retrieved March 10, 2007, ERIC database

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. The Achievement Gap is between what two groups? A.) teacher and students B.) white and black students only C.) low-income minority students and middle-class white students

2. Whose to Blame for the Achievement Gap? D.) teachers E.) lazy students F.) the combination of a lack of culturally responsive pedagogy and incongruent social- class trends

3. Early Childhood Development Programs help to close the Achievement Gap because: G.) Students who have attended preschool are more likely to have a more successful life. H.) ECD programs offer the kind of intellectual environment that is typically experienced by middle class children. I.) Students have more schooling

4. What is a plausible cause for children of middle-class families to be more inquisitive than those children of low-income families? J.) Many middle-class parents use problem solving and communicative skills when relating with their children. K.) A higher percentage of middle-class children are enrolled in early education and therefore have developed inquisitive skills L.) Middle-class children are naturally more intelligent

5. Health gaps contribute to the achievement gap. Low-income children have overall poorer health which is attributed to what? M.) A high percentage of low-income children are victims of neglect N.) Low-income parents do not know how to recognize the signs of illness and therefore do not provide their children with proper health care. O.) Prenatal conditions, poorly trained eye sight due to watching too much television, asthma and lead poisoning due to poor living conditions and inadequate health care.

Answers to Multiple Choice Questions

1. C. 2. F. 3. H. 4. J. 5. O.

Essay Question

Are early childhood development programs and teacher professional development initiatives enough to close the achievement gap? If so, why and if not explain additional methods to close the gap.

Sample Answer

ECD programs which promote school readiness in terms of behavior and intellect and also teach low-income parents the behaviors which promote child development and school readiness are highly favorable to closing the achievement gap before the start of school. This is a great advantage for those children who are set up early for unsuccessful school experiences. If these children can begin kindergarten with similar experiences as those of middle-class children then they are likely to be successful in school.

Also, teachers who have been trained on the issue of diversity are likely to be significantly more influential to the success of low-income minorities than those teachers who have not been trained well. If teachers use specific instructional strategies when teaching low-income minority children it almost certainly will enhance the children’s achievement.

However great these methods are at enhancing low-income minority children’s success they will not fully close the gap. The achievement gap is a vast issue which needs multifaceted methods in which to obtain a resolution. Since the achievement gap is between social classes the answer to closing the gap lies with the need to bridge the classes. This is an extremely lofty goal since for ages due to stigma, America has denied that our nation even has social classes and even if we were to recognize social classes the reform would need to begin here. I advocate for initiatives which focus on teaching parents how to develop their children’s inquisitive nature, home visitations by teachers, free educational resources and community partnerships with schools. These I believe will make great headway at closing our nation’s achievement gap.