Poverty and racism have had a negative impact on the education system. Statistics show a strong correlation between race and poverty. It is important to recognize the economic and ethnic backgrounds of students in order to identify the factors that could hinder their achievement. The aim of this study was to discover the best practices that can be implemented in schools in order to close the achievement gap. The research would incorporate the use of mixed-method by making use of data collected through surveys, interviews, and from secondary sources. The quantitative method of data collection would be used according to the standardized test scores of students. Qualitative data was gathered through the use of interviews and surveys. The result of the study would indicate the best practices that can be used to create a positive impact in order to make a positive impact in narrowing the achievement gap. The significance of the research would provide educators with an outline of success instructional strategies.
Introduction
The achievement gap in education refers to the difference in the learning ability of students from different population groups. The population groups can be divided into students from the low socioeconomic background and those from the high socioeconomic background. It can also be divided into students from majority groups and those from a minority group. The government has made significant efforts to improve the state of schools in order to reduce the achievement gap. Closing the achievement gap can thus be defined as schools where improvement is made on low-performing students from minority groups and low socio-economic backgrounds.
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There have been several efforts and strategies used in the past to try to close the achievement gap. Several schools have put emphasis on and demonstrated increased interest in reducing the achievement gap between low performing and high performing students. While there has been research geared towards finding the reasons behind the achievement gap, there are still few studies which examine the strategies on the policies that can be used to close the achievement gap on a school level.
One way in which the achievement gap can be closed is through the use of specialized teaching programs for minority students. The specialized program would involve teachers paying close attention to low performing students. It involves the educator monitoring their performance and identifying ways that can be used to help students personally. Teachers that may want to assist their students may make use of additional hours for the low performing students. They could be given extra homework in order to help them sharpen their skills. Carried out consistently, low performing students may start improving and witness an improvement in their grades.
Problem statement
The problem to be explored in the study was to identify ways that can reduce the achievement gap for students that come from minority groups and families that are low-income. Instead of simply blaming poor achievement on their environment, educators should consider various factors that can contribute to poor achievement and identify ways which they can be improved. Millions of students in the United States lack the necessary resources to help them become successful in school. These learners are at the risk of failing unless administrators and teachers develop necessary strategies and interventions which could help students to succeed. The achievement gap throughout the nation usually begins in elementary school and widens as the students progress with their learning. The achievement gap disproportionately affects students that live in poverty or those from minority groups such as African-American, Hispanic, Native American, English Language Learners, and students that have some form of disability.
Purpose of the study
It is important to analyze and gain an understanding of why some students from low economic backgrounds and minority groups fail to perform well in school. The purpose of the study was to identify some of the best practices which schools are implementing to close the achievement gap. The strategies used would help students that come from low socioeconomic status to start performing well. Crow (2010) developed a reliable model that can be used to address the problems of students from minority groups. Other schools can make use of the study and duplicate it to identify what has been effective. Educators should also be optimistic about the achievement of students from minority groups and not simply assume that students who come from minority groups are hopeless. They should instruct students in order to help them have a successful growth regardless of their economic background.
Previous Studies
There have been several issues that have emerged regarding the issues that students from minority groups and low socioeconomic backgrounds that students face. One of the issues deals with the external environment of the student. The student’s home environment can involve the level of education of their parent, the language spoken at home, availability of learning resources in the community, and their parent’s income. Students that are disadvantaged rarely have rich opportunities that are presented to other students due to the limited amounts of resources within their homes. This often impacts their vocabulary and causes a delay in their growth.
Students that were raised in poverty and difficult home environments did not have adequate parental support throughout their education. Their parents may have been involved in survival issues as they try to make ends meet. They could try to sustain a number of jobs which can make it difficult to have a meaningful experience and to spend an adequate amount of time with their children. On the contrary students that come from high socioeconomic status usually have an advantage as a result of the resources they have at home. They can have adequate resources that can build their literacy, comprehension, reading, and wring skills. The result is that the gap between high performing and low performing students based on the economic status begins at childhood. Over the past four decades, the achievement gap has been on the increase with students that come from backgrounds where they struggle to make ends meet find it difficult to cope up (Reardon, 2011).
Children that are under-resourced usually face several challenges in their schooling. They are likely to be at risk in experiencing reading failure as a result of the widening gap in vocabulary which are being picked by their peers that come from working families (Ferguson, 2010). When the student enters high school, they are several years behind in terms of academic achievement. Students that do not succeed in school will have difficulties in having a secure employment at a later stage in life. They thus risk living in poverty, engaging in criminal activities and spending time behind bars. This creates a negative ripple on their children and future generations who are likely to experience similar problems (Lacour and Tissington, 2011).
Increasing inequality in Parent incomes
Duncan, Kalil, and Ziol-guest (2017), examined the issue behind income inequality and school completion outcome. The primary goal of the study was to explain the increase in the income-based inconsistencies in children’s completed schooling, possibly related to different demographic factors such as family income, mother’s education, family size, two-parent family structure, and age of mother at birth. They carried out their study by examining how rising inequality may influence children’s skills acquisition and educational attainment. The experts made an analysis of different students’ test scores and college enrollment and graduation rate to determine if income inequality plays a role in the student achievement gap. By examining the variables of years of completed schooling and college attendance and graduation, the researchers focused their attention in some of the circumstances the students live, as well as observing the gaps between the two groups and how these may affect the way achievement gap can be decreased or close it completely.
The study by Duncan found that between the students in the top and bottom quintile of the family income distribution, there was an increase in the gaps of completed schooling. The increase was by approximately one-half year across the entire period the study took place, with almost all the increase occurring in the second half of the period. The demographic factors mentioned above also played an important role in the study, as each of them is correlated with child achievement. The researchers encountered several surprises, though. One of them was that two-parent family structure what only modestly associated children’s schooling. Another surprise was that income-based gaps in the age of mother at the birth of the child were surprisingly powerful in predicting income based attainment gaps.
Views of phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge instruction
O’Leary, Cockburn, Powell, and Diamond (2010), examined the issue of pre-kindergarten programs not being able to close the achievement gap between low-income and middle-class children regarding phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge. Previous researches have shown that phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge are one of the most important key predictors for early childhood later reading competence, as these lay the foundation in children’s literacy skills in kindergarten and elementary school.
The researchers asked the question to what extent are phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge skills included as critical outcomes for children in guidelines and standards for early childhood programs? And if so, what can be done to improve the quality of instruction related to vocabulary and phonological skills in pre-kindergarten programs? The primary purpose of the researchers when conducting this study was to identify the challenges that teacher for the Head Start program (a pre-kindergarten program for low-income children) face in order to implement the instruction of phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge, and the views the teachers would have in regards to implementing effective strategies and promote these skills in preschoolers.
O’Leary et al. 2010, found that movement toward a general agreement on the role of vocabulary instruction in pre-K classrooms seems to be underway, but learning standards inconsistently prioritize the importance of vocabulary knowledge and that there must be professional development programs aimed at supporting teachers’ word and sound instruction. Many teachers viewed small group settings as superior to large group sessions for phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge instruction. The researchers made the argument that besides teachers using new strategies to teach and meet the standards, it would be of importance to take the status of vocabulary knowledge to a more noticeable position in the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, where it is clear that indicators to children’s understanding and use of novel words are not included. It was also recommended that pre-K curricula should include clear strategies to teach children new words in meaningful contexts
Strategies to reduce the achievement gap
Focusing on Participation and Engagement to Close the Achievement Gap
Fisher, Frey, and Lapp, 2011, examined the issue of students’ achievement gap, which is a great concern especially in the Black students, Latino(a) students and Native American students’ communities. Studies show that the lack of students’ complete commitment in different areas in school is correlated to failure in academic areas, therefore it contributes to the achievement gap. They conducted their study by asking the question: what needs to be done in schools to decrease students’ achievement gap? Researchers focused on what needed to be done for students to reach their full potential.
The researchers noted that one of the ways to reduce the achievement gap is to encourage participation of students. However, attendance is not enough for a student to decrease the achievement gap. Engagement from students in the classroom was addressed by focusing on providing professional development for teachers. Instead of being a lecture type of class, it had to be more conversational and interactional between teachers and students and students with students. There is low pressure this way, and students feel they can revise their ideas when a new insight is offered. Additionally, by doing things this way, students are engaged when their thoughts and voices are valued and when the curriculum relates to their everyday life. Productive group work between teachers and students has been essential in finding a solution to the engagement problem. Based on the experience, the result has been evident. Students were more engaged, motivated and confident to do the work correctly.
The study presented by Fisher shows one of the strategies that can be used to close the achievement gap. Attendance and engagement are important factors and proven ways for closing the achievement gap. These two aspects may not be the only ones necessary to make a change, but definitely sharing this information at a national scale contributes to closing the achievement gap.
Specialized teaching
One of the strategies that have been used by schools that have resulted in a narrowing of the achievement gap is to use specialized teaching. Also known as differentiated teaching, it involves the provision of different instructions that target students that are struggling academically. The goal of this intervention is to prevent continual failure by tailoring teaching according to the needs of the students and their area of struggle (Cooper et al., 2015). These types of modifications are also referred to as Response to Intervention (RTI) methods.
The provision of differentiated teaching can serve as both a corrective and preventive approach. Students that are struggling academically at a young age can receive extra interventions. This will give the students an early chance for academic growth and provide great ease with their education as the student's advances in their studies. It can act as a preventive strategy which ensures that students have the correct foundation to help their performance from an early age. In case the student is left out struggling at an early age without any interventions, they are likely to experience difficulties in later stages of their studies ().
The main idea behind the use of specialized teaching is to ensure that schools can provide the necessary interventions for students before they continue with their education and the achievement gap widens. Gradual widening of the achievement gap takes place as the student advances in their education and it becomes difficult to reduce the achievement gap at later stages in life. Special education is thus one of the only considerations that can provide the best results. These early interventions would allow students to have their problem handled and thus improves their academic achievement progressively. The main objective of differentiated instruction is to provide additional support and instructions at the early stages of life to help in academic achievement.
The role of social workers in closing the achievement gap
Avant and Swerdlik (2016), examined the issue of the degree in which some school professionals, particularly school social workers (SSWs) and school psychologists (SPs) collaborate to identify and analyze students’ problems. When this issue was identified, the main idea was to help students before learning difficulties arise and grow into permanent patterns of failure. With this issue, SSWs and SPs have to assume new roles in regards to implementing a new program in the school system in order to reduce and possibly close the achievement gap. The results of the study by Avant and Swerdlik confirm that the implementation of the MTSS/RTI has a significant impact on the activities and roles of SSWs and SPs. The researchers make the argument that in order to see advancements in both, the social work and school psychology field, improvements in current practices and guidelines need to take place.
Theory
The study theorizes that the achievement gap can be closed through offering a comprehensive education and special program for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The study seeks to identify other ways which can be used to close the achievement. The use of the additional educational practices and policies by putting keen emphasis and observing minority group students should help in reducing the achievement gap.
Method
The research will be conducted through the use of the mixed method design. Quantitative and qualitative methods will be employed through the use of interviews and surveys. These methods provide an exhaustive method of gathering enough evidence to help with the study and substantiating the results. The method for collecting the data for the study will involve an online survey that is distributed to principals of elementary schools. The study focused on elementary schools since the achievement gap can be traced to start in elementary schools and increases as students continue with their studies. The survey will involve a series of questions regarding policies that have been implemented by schools to reduce the achievement gap. The data gathered from the survey would be grouped numerically and would form the quantitative piece of data. The study will involve an analysis of the achievement of students within the past three years.
The qualitative portion of data would entail interviews done face to face. The interviews would be directed to principals in elementary schools. The interviewees should be able to provide performance scores of the students from minority groups. Various questions will analyze the answers on whether the principals think whether some strategies have worked in trying to reduce the achievement gap or not.
Type of data
The survey would be addressed to professional educators such as college professors, teachers, and administrators. They would be asked survey statements through the use of research questions. The questions would be geared towards identifying various ways which can be used to reduce the achievement in elementary schools. Educators were chosen for the survey because they are professionals in the educational field that have had a practical experience in dealing with closing the achievement gap.
Interview questions would also be addressed to professional educators including college professors, teachers, and administrators. The interview questions would be based on the theory of the study of whether specialized programs can be used to reduce the achievement gap. The questions would be through a series of statements that identify the use of specialized programs for minority groups. The participants would then be asked to provide other suggestions that can be used to close the achievement gap. The questions answered will be specific, relevant, and would be graded based on the responses from other interviewees. The responses from the interviewees would then be examined to identify that the research question is specific and that there are adequate strategies that can be used by schools to reduce the achievement gap.
Data analysis
The data gathered will be grouped into quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data will include a number of respondents that agreed on the use of specialized programs to help student achievement from low socioeconomic backgrounds. A table would be drawn and the data would be analyzed to determine whether the larger population agrees that the achievement gap can be reduced through specialized programs.
The qualitative data would involve various responses from educators about various ways that can be used to close the achievement gap. Their responses would be recorded from the interview questions and examined. The different strategies recommended by the educators would be ranked according to what most educators stated. The qualitative data would thus include a ranking of the best strategies that can be used to close the achievement gap.
Anticipated results
The anticipated results are that special education would contribute positively to reducing the achievement gap. The study expects to identify other data that would answer the question of the best practices that can be used to reduce the achievement gap of students from low socioeconomic status and minority groups. Results of the study will contribute to the wide field of education by identifying some of the strategies that can be used to improve student achievement and close the achievement gap. The study should equip teachers and administrators at the school level with the ability to close the achievement gap. It will provide research-based instructional strategies that can be effective in assisting students to improve their performance. The findings will be helpful for administrators and teachers to have a well-laid out policies, interventions, and strategies that could be directly implemented in schools to close the achievement gap.
References
Avant, D. W., & Swerdlik, M. E. (2016). A collaborative endeavor: The roles and functions of school social workers and school psychologists in implementing a multi-tiered system of Supports/Response to intervention. School Social Work Journal, 41 (1), 56-72. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/docview/2055022609?accountid=14541
Cooper, J. D., Robinson, M. D., Slansky, J. A., & Kiger, N. D. (2014). Literacy: Helping students construct meaning . Cengage Learning.
Crow, J. (2010). An analysis of the academic achievement of urban and rural low-socioeconomic status Tennessee public schools . Tennessee State University.
Duncan, G. J., Kalil, A., & Ziol-guest, K. (2017). Increasing inequality in parent incomes and Children’s schooling. Demography, 54 (5), 1603-1626. doi:http://dx.doi.org.mutex.gmu.edu/10.1007/s13524-017-0600-4
Ferguson, R., Stellar, A., Schools, B. C. P., & Morganton, N. C. (2010). Toward excellence with equity: An emerging vision for closing the achievement gap. Evidence-based Practice Articles , 56 .
Fisher, Douglas, Nancy Frey, and Dianne Lapp. 2011. “Focusing on the Participation and Engagement Gap: A Case Study on Closing the Achievement Gap.” Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR), 16:1, 56-64, Retrieved September 24, 2018, DOI: 10.1080/10824669.2011.545976
Lacour, M., & Tissington, L. D. (2011). The effects of poverty on academic achievement. Educational Research and Reviews , 6 (7), 522-527.
O'leary, P., M., Cockburn, M. K., Powell, D. R., & Diamond, K. E. (2010). Headstart teachers' views of phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge instruction. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38 (3), 187-195. doi:http://dx.doi.org.mutex.gmu.edu/10.1007/s10643-010-0394-0
Reardon, S. F. (2011). The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor: New evidence and possible explanations. Whither opportunity , 91-116.
