Good Argument Synthesis Essay Essay Example

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The achievement gap is the unequal and unbalanced distribution of educational results and outputs of various students on the basis of class, economic status, race or ethnicity. The disparity existing between students that come from low-income households as compared to those of high-income homes or those that are either Asian-American and whites and those that are African American or Hispanic is the usual reference for the achievement gap.
This difference is usually distinguished with the help of National Standardized Test scores between these categories of students. There are also other variables to measure the achievement gap such as college enrollment rates, student drop-out rates, absentees, +course grades and college-completion rates that are taken on notice by the government and districts. (Ed.Glossary, 2014).
The achievement gap has been tried to overcome and closed, yet it still exists. According to studies in this matter, there exists an internal gap as well as an external gap. (Anderson, Medrich and Fowler, 2007). The internal gap means a measure of the minority students that are overcoming the gap, and if the gap does lessen then other schools can implement it as well. The external gap is with reference to schools with lesser number of white students, however, their achievement is also recorded.
The basis of the achievement gap is the poverty level, the language difference that non-natives face and the difficulty they feel in coping with the academic requirements and the disabled students who are also included in this category. With these differences put aside there, exist more serious questions as to why does the difference exist in places in the first place.
Studies have shown that it is, in fact, the state itself that is responsible for keeping an equal academic status for whites and non-whites. Sometimes the policymakers themselves do not ensure good quality education for African American students. The quality of teachers that are provided to students who are underprivileged or come from poorer backgrounds is not up to the mark like that of the well-off students. (Hartney and Flavin, 2015). The attention they need and the grooming they require to compete with the rest of the children appearing in similar examinations is not provided. Hence the achievement gap persists.
The gap also continues where there are test biases and students face the discrimination of their teachers either due to their weak English, if they are non-natives, irrespective of their written material. Discrimination also occurs in being open to another student’s cultural difference and difference of opinion on a certain topic. Students are reprimanded for that. There is also a predicted bias that exists amongst the teachers that a certain student or students will perform in a certain way and their tests are never marked with indifference rather they are judged on what the teacher would stereotypically expect them to write. (Ed.Glossary, 2014).
Another alarming issue is the obsession with better grades rather than equalizing the matter for the students. There exist many schools where achieving better grades is more important that decreasing the achievement gap. Some schools are insistent on keeping up with their better performances, while others working on their black and Hispanic students are not keeping up with the performance of the other schools as they are still behind in the graded race. (Anderson, Medrich and Fowler, 2007).
The achievement gap is a barrier in the way of equal and fair education amongst the students of America and it needs to be eradicated by making strict policy measures and amending the unjust, education methods being used in schools in the various states

References

Anderson, Medrich, and Fowler,(2007). Sage Pub. Pdf. Retrieved from
http://apr.sagepub.com/content/42/1/3.abstract
Hidden curriculum (2014, August 26). In S. Abbott (Ed.), The glossary of education reform. Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/hidden-curriculum