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"The Education Achievement Gap: Minnesota's Embarrassment"
The following questions are based on the Minnesota Public Radio feature "The Education Achievement Gap: Minnesota's Embarrassment"
Reading Comprehension
Read the abridged article by Tim Pugmire: Racial Learning Gap Defies Easy Explanation or Solution
Answer the following questions:
- From highest to lowest, how do various ethnic groups perform on statewide tests?
White students, Asians, Hispanics, American Indians, and African Americans
- Mark Davison identifies a specific problem for disadvantaged students. What is that problem?
Advantaged students are making good progress, so disadvantaged students must progress at a higher rate in order to gain ground. Even if they progress at the same rate as advantaged students, they will remain just as far behind.
- How is the Achievement Gap defined?
The Achievement Gap is defined as the academic disparities among racial groups. Specifically, the gap in academic performance between white students and students of color.
- Several possible causes for the Achievement Gap are identified. Name three.
Children living in poverty, limited English speaking skills of recent immigrants, inexperienced teachers, peer pressure, low expectations for students of color.
- When does Goldee Shear say that student have the best chance of getting back on a successful track?
Before they leave the elementary grades.
- Educators have attempt to reduce the Achievement Gap by making class sizes smaller and expanding pre-school programs. What other efforts have they made?
Schools have brought adult mentors into classrooms and set higher academic standards. They also hope for more parental involvement.
Read the abridged article by Dan Olson: The Cost of Minnesota's Racial Achievement Gap
Answer the following questions:
- What long-term costs of the Achievement Gap do Felicia Thomas and Eugene Faizon experience?
No employer will hire Felicia Thomas because she does not have a high school diploma. Eugene Faizon has a diminished earning power because he did not attend college.
- What reason does Felicia Thomas give for going back to school?
Her son is in first grade and she wants to be able to help him through school.
- What is the difference in potential income for a person who does not complete high school, versus a person who gets at least some post-high school training?
The difference is $500,000, or one half million dollars.
- Does Eugene Faizon feel he is successful? Why or why not?
Eugene Faizon does not feel he is successful because even though he has a job and lives a positive life, he can't do things like send his children to college or buy a new vehicle. He cannot tell his children or an employer that he has a college degree.
- The Achievement Gap is described as a cycle. Explain how it is a cycle.
People who live in poverty very often do not do well in school, and are less able to help their own children learn. Their children are more likely to perform at a lower level, which makes them less able to escape poverty and less able to help their own future children learn.
- What does Barry Shaffer say is the way to break this cycle?
Adults who have trouble reading, writing, or computing should get help. They can enroll in programs that teach these skills. They can also bring their children, who attend pre-school programs while their parents are in class.
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Listening Comprehension Questions
Read the following questions, then listen to "Roots of Gap Based in Race, Culture Differences" to find the answers.
 Listen to the special (7:38)
- What is Brown vs. Board of Education?
Brown vs. Board of Education is the 1954 Supreme Court decision that desegregated American schools.
- What reason is given for Bill Cosby's anger at the NAACP ceremony?
Bill Cosby is angry because he feels that today's African Americans are blaming others for their underachievement. He says that civil rights activists took great risks to fight for the right to an education, and today's youth, in their habits and speech, are wasting those efforts.
- Ronald Ferguson suggests several factors that contribute to the Achievement Gap. What are they?
The disparity in skills between African American and white children; cultural factors such as hip-hop, which may distract students; schools now emphasize vocational training, rather than vigorous academic skills; peer pressure to not 'act white,' students of color feeling alienated by school curriculums they don't connect with.
- Students of color experience a unique kind of peer pressure when they perform well in school. They are sometimes accused of ______________.
acting white
- Culturally-specific educational programs can found in the Twin Cities' __________________ system.
charter school
- Seed Academy/Harvest Prepartory School is a unique program. What are three ways in which this school is different from other schools?
The school was created by African Americans for African Americans. Students wear uniforms, they have a longer school day, and receive a great deal of exposure to African American culture. Teachers start school two weeks before students do.
- What does Eric Mahmoud feel matters most to students about their teachers?
He believes that a teacher's skill and dedication to teacher matters more to their students than race.
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Key Terms and Topics
Terms
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From "Racial Learning Gap Defies Easy Explanation or Solution"
- isolated
separated from others
- Asians
a person of Asian descent
- Hispanics
a person of Latin American descent living in the United States
- American Indian
a person descended from the native people of North America
- African Americans
an American of African descent
- evidence
proof
- attitude
a feeling or emotion toward something
- motivation
one's level of excitement or enthusiasm toward something
- expanded
increased
- mentors
a trusted person, usually older, who provides support and guidance
- nurture
to further the development of another
- national priority
something that is given attention or is a goal on a national level
- performance
one's success or failure on a task or project
- punitive
inflicting punishment
- proficiency
to be skilled at something
From "The Cost of Minnesota's Achievement Gap"
- long-term cost
negative effects that last for a very long time
- visible
something that can be seen or observed or is very obvious
- employer
a person or company that offers jobs to people
- diploma
a document that indicates a person has graduated from high school or other educational institutions
- dropout
a person who has left school before completing their education
- educate
to teach
- diminished earning power
a weakened ability to earn an income as a result of not having completed college or high school
- income
the wage or salary that a person earns from their job
- scenario
a sequence of events
- education history
the schools one has attended, including any diplomas or degrees earned
- economic status
one's position compared to others based on income, material objects
- marginal
very close to the lowest level
- indicator
something that provides measure
- reliable
suitable; gives the same results over time
From "Roots of Gap Based in Race, Class, Culture Differences"
- scholar
someone who has done advanced study in a given field; an expert
- remedies
solutions to problems
- genetically inferior
to be lower in quality as a result of biology
- barrier
an obstacle
- Brown vs. Board of Education
the 1954 Supreme Court decision that declared school segregation to be illegal and unconstitutional
- commemorate
to celebrate, remember, or honor
- desegregate
to no longer separate
- Ebonics
the spoken language system which has its roots in urban, working-class African-American life
- squander
to waste
- impoverished
to be in poverty
- vocational training
education or training in a specific industry or trade
- peer pressure
pressure to conform to one's peers' or friends' ideas
- 'acting white'
the perception that students of color who do well in school are acting like they are 'better' than their peers
- accusation
a statement that another person has done something wrong
- superior
of higher quality
- condescending
to behave as if you are lowering yourself to another's level
- alienated
to feel isolated from others
- curriculum
a school's course of study
- charter school system
public schools that operate independently of local school boards, often with a curriculum and educational philosophy different from other schools in the district
- Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments
exams given to every third- and fifth-grader in Minnesota. Third graders take exams that focus on reading and math. Fifth graders take exams in reading, math, and written composition
- multiracial
to have more than one race
- predominantly
mostly
- race-blind
to ignore or not pay attention to differences in race
- racial parity
racial equality
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From "Can Early Ed Close the Gap?"
- developing brain
the young brain of a child
- evict
to force out of one's residence
- environment
one's surroundings
- interfere
to be an obstacle
- unemployed
to not have a job
- stimuli
something that causes a response
- ratio
Relation in degree or number between two similar things
- economist
a specialist in economics; one who studies or makes predictions about economic changes
- scholarship
money that is awarded to someone so they can attend school
- endowment
money donated to a group as a source of income
- favorable
positive
- government-sponsored
to be paid for by local or national governments
- dysfunctional
to perform abnormally or negatively
- proponent
a supporter of a particular view or opinion
From "Closing the Gap: One School's Approach"
- transient
one who frequently moves
- morale
the level of the spirits or feelings of a person or group
- reconstitution
the process of reorganizing
- commitment
the state of being bound to something or someone
- significant
large; major
- discipline
a state of order
- climate
one's environment or surroundings
- tough love
The use of strict discipline and limitations on freedoms as a way to teach responsibility, yet still expresses care and concern for the child
- veteran
one who has many years' experience
- colleague
a work partner
- personalized instruction
instruction that is tailored to an individuals strengths, weaknesses, habits, or preferences
- potential
to have possibility; the possibility of future success
- autobiographical
the story of one's life told by that person
- aspiring
a person who has great ambition for a particular career or skill
- demographics
characteristics of the groups that make up a particular community
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