The following work has been condensed for publication. To read the full-length paper, please contact Robyn Haim at robynsh2@gmail.com
Minorities in the United States experience disadvantage and prejudice from the many societal structures with which they interact. A major area of concern is the education system: Black and Latinx students consistently underperform and fail to meet academic benchmarks. This phenomenon is known as the achievement gap and it is directly related to structural oppression within schools. Educators are often unrepresentative of their student body and unprepared to discuss issues of race and culture; many have implicit biases towards minority students which results in unequal treatment. Curriculums, 504 plans, and individualized learning programs (IEP) may not be appropriate or accessible for Black and Latinx students. Providing cultural sensitivity and anti-bias training, implementing new course work, and revamping 504s and IEPS could help reduce the achievement gap and improve student outcomes.
In a representative sample of kindergarteners in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), less than half of Black and Latinx students meet the benchmark for school readiness (Bonner-Tompkins, 2019). From elementary to high school, Black and Latinx students are two to five times less proficient at Math and English Language Arts and have significantly lower graduation rates and higher dropout rates compared to students of other races (White, Asian, Two or more), with Latinx consistently performing worse than Black students (Bonner-Tompkins, 2019).
Looking at the demographics of the school system, over 80% of public-school teachers, principals, and education leaders are White, while almost half of elementary and secondary students are not (U.S. Department of Education, 2016). This does not mean that White educators are unable to effectively teach minority students, but American education tends to focus on standards-based accountability instead of culturally relevant methods of teaching and learning (Loy, 2017). Additionally, an overwhelming majority of school leaders say that they do not have the skills or confidence to support teachers who struggle to teach Black and Latinx students (MCPS Study Circle Program, n.d.).
This lack of cultural awareness and diversity results in implicit bias. Almost 80% of teachers demonstrate implicit bias and White teachers have higher levels of pro-white and anti-black bias compared to teachers of color (Boudreau, 2020; Will, 2020). White teachers have lower expectations of Black and Latinx students and view Black students as more likely to engage in challenging classroom behaviors (Gilliam et al., 2016). Areas with stronger pro-white and anti-black bias among teachers show larger achievement gaps (Boudreau, 2020). The difficulties that these students experience is no surprise when predominately White educators do not treat them equally.
This phenomenon has significant negative implications. Teachers are more likely to act on their biases when they are tired or decisions are unclear (Will, 2020). This results in Black students being disproportionately disciplined for discretionary offenses; they are almost four times as likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions compared to White students (NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc [LDF], 2017). This contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline because students who are expelled or suspended are more than twice as likely to be arrested in the same month compared to a student who wasn’t (NAACP LDF, 2017). Additionally, having a criminal record creates a roadblock that raises the unemployment rate to nearly five times higher than the unemployment rate of the general U.S. population (Couloute & Kopf, 2018). Being unable to complete secondary education and having a criminal record can severely affect a person’s ability to find employment and earn a stable living wage, thereby continuing the cycle of poverty and crime that pervades certain minority communities (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019).
There are solutions to this issue. Increasing the student to counselor ratio in school systems and employing more educators that are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) can play a major role in rectifying implicit biases. Implementing racial sensitivity programs and trainings can provide insight to the practices and policies that have contributed to the achievement gap and teach ways to create a more racially conscious culture of learning. Changing school curriculums and reworking IEPs and 504s to be more inclusive and sensitive to the needs of minorities can lessen the barriers they face when trying to engage with their education.
However, there are issues with these solutions. Schools with majority minority students are often the least funded, as the white and wealthy can muster political power to draw borders around themselves keeping their local tax dollars while the outlying poorer districts are practically solely reliant on state tax dollars (Edbuild, February 2019). Therefore, securing resources to enact these changes is challenging. Fundamentally, it is difficult to convince communities that problems exist because of structural oppression and that we need to educate ourselves and advocate for change. Furthermore, immigrant families in the Latinx community are often undereducated in relation to our school system and require additional support. Black and Latinx students in America are struggling, but understanding this issue and the reasons for it can be a first step towards solving it.
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Gap can be Closed. Retrieved from https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/studycircles/Study%20Circles%20Overview%202015-2016%20February%202016.pdf
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Will, M. (2020). Teachers Are as Racially Biased as Everybody Else, Study Shows. Education Week. Retrieved from
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