The United States indeed continues to make remarkable gains in promoting racial justice and equality in its various institutions and systems. Today, ethnic and racial minority communities enjoy access to a wide range of resources and opportunities previously denied. However, there are many areas where the country continues to lag. Education is among the spaces where inequality persists. For such minorities as African Americans students, access to affordable and high-quality learning in high school remains elusive and limited. Available research literature demonstrates that for many Black minorities in the United States, the current high school education system hinders further progress to higher institutions of learning (Taylor & Cantwell 2). Most scholars have conducted research on the role that the education system plays in fueling inequalities in the United States. In addition to exploring the scale of these inequalities, the existing research has also shed light on the specific mechanisms through which the system perpetuates injustice and robs Black minorities of the opportunities to pursue college education (Kim et al. 86). It is expected that when completed, the study will add to the volume of literature that is already in place and offer insights into some of the interventions that the United States can adopt as part of its efforts to make higher education more accessible and transformational for ethnic and racial minorities
Scale and Manifestations of Inequality in Education
The extent and the manifestations of inequality in American high school education are among the subjects that have received attention from researchers. Taylor and Cantwell (1) relied on publicly available information to explore issues such as the admission protocols that the colleges and universities in the country have adopted and the racial composition of their student populations. While these researchers observed that it is now easier for Black minorities, they continue to face hardships due to the selective admission procedures that college educational institutions have implemented for Black high school students ( Taylor and Cantwell 1). Essentially, Taylor and Cantwell (2) acknowledge that the United States has made commendable progress, but racial disparities in the college selection system that bars Black high school students from joining college after graduation persist ( Taylor and Cantwell 2). Naylor et al. (523) also examined the reality of American college education whereby he conducted a brief literature review to determine African American males' experiences. The key observation that these researchers made is that in addition to finding college education to be unaffordable, access is limited for many African American male students in high schools, and the academic outcomes are sub-par ( Naylor et al. 523). Baker et al. (1) found that African American high school students have fewer college choices, and often perform poorly than their white counterparts. As a result of the racial discrimination Black minorities face in the employment system, their earnings tend to be lower than those of the learned White community, negatively affecting their ability to enroll their high school students in college ( Baker et al. 1). Colen et al. (1) also explored the effects that racial inequalities continue to have on Black minority students and revealed that Black high school students report poor health outcomes ( Colen et al. 1). The scholars have delved the reality in the United states high school education system.
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How the Education System Serves as a Barrier
The mechanism through which the high school education system perpetuates inequalities in advancing to college in the United States is another question that researchers have attempted to answer. Harper (140) noted that for a majority of the black high school students, exposure to violence, family instability, and inadequate resources advanced by racism experienced by parents in institutions, such as employment, is among the most pressing hardships that confront them ( Harper 140). Furthermore, Harper (160) also found that the American education system has failed to empower the Black high school students and guide them to develop the resiliency necessary to overcome the hurdles they encounter (Harper 160). Eisenhart et al. (763) reached a similar conclusion. These scholars gave particular attention to eight high schools in Denver and Buffalo that were set up primarily to meet the needs of black students interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses. The researchers also examined how well these schools satisfied these needs and their students' challenges ( Eisenhart et al. 763). While they determined that the schools generated an initial increase in academic outcomes and college enrollment from high school learners of the Black community, Eisenhart et al. (788) also observed that the institutions were unable to sustain the positive impact in the long run. To explain this result, these scholars argue that the STEM schools are not fully aligned with the unique circumstances and hardships advanced by racial profiling that plague education among African Americans. These STEM schools fail Black minority students by delivering a one-shoe-fits-all solution that does not respond directly to the particular situation of the students that curriculum targets. It is therefore not surprising that the performance and enrollment rates for minorities remain low .
Fletcher and Tienda (144) study observed that the race of a student and high school attendance are among the most critical determinants of college student performance. They reported that, in general, Black minority students are less likely to find places in college, and when they do, their performance tends to be disappointing. Fletcher and Tienda (146) explained this observation by contending that the American education system does not invest in the success of Black students. Being poorly resourced, high schools that serve these students position them for failure in such future pursuits as college education ( Fletcher and Tienda 146). Kim et al. (85) also noted that Black minority high school students often attend schools that are inadequately funded and therefore incapable of supporting their educational ambitions ( Kim et al. 85). Therefore, the factors surrounding the high school education system hinder Black minority students progress to college level.
Promising Solutions
While researchers have focused their attention on the problems ailing the American education system, they have also proposed some solutions that the nation can implement in its quest to create an equal climate for learning. Noguera (130) recommends that public high schools that have the largest Black student population be supported in their efforts to promote the performance and college enrollment of African American students. According to the researcher, the local and federal authorities ought to increase the budgetary allocations for public high schools that often have the highest population of Black students to address such fundamental issues as poverty that prevents them from joining college after graduation ( Noguera 132). Carter (1) also discusses some of the programs that the nation can harness to alleviate the hardships faced by Black minority high school students as they seek education . He additionally promises that a multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach holds the key to making American education more racially equal. He states that instead of being narrow in their focus, the United States’ answers should be broader and more comprehensive if the nation is to achieve sustainable progress that drives the success of Black minorities (Carter 12). Thus, it the upon the present American rulers to devise strategies that are study-based so as to enhance equality in the United States education system.
Conclusion
In closing, researchers have conducted robust investigations into various aspects of racial inequality in the American education system. However, there are some gaps and shortcomings that should be addressed. For example, most of the existing research generally focuses on the racial inequalities, and it is challenging to draw conclusions concerning specific causes of the issue. The different scholars reviewed the above-conducted studies that focused on individual schools and particular groups of students whose experiences do not necessarily represent the encounters of all minority students. The proposed study may probably address the identified weaknesses as it will reveal the various ways that the American education system compounds inequalities and denies minority students opportunities and resources.
Works Cited
Baker, Rachel, Daniel Klasik, and Sean F. Reardon. "Race and stratification in college enrollment over time." AERA Open 4.1 (2018): 2332858417751896.
Carter, Prudence L. "The multidimensional problems of educational inequality require multidimensional solutions." Educational Studies 54.1 (2018): 1-16.
Colen, Cynthia G., Nicolo Pinchak, and Kierra S. Barnett. "Racial Disparities in Health among College Educated African-Americans: Can HBCU Attendance Reduce the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome in Midlife?" (2020).
Eisenhart, Margaret, et al. "High school opportunities for STEM: Comparing inclusive STEM‐focused and comprehensive high schools in two US cities." Journal of Research in Science Teaching 52.6 (2015): 763-789.
Fletcher, Jason, and Marta Tienda. "Race and ethnic differences in college achievement: Does high school attended matter?" The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 627.1 (2010): 144-166.
Harper, Shaun R. "Success in these schools? Visual counternarratives of young men of color and urban high schools they attend." Urban Education 50.2 (2015): 139-169.
Kim, Dongbin, and Anne-Marie Nuñez. "Diversity, situated social contexts, and college enrollment: Multilevel modeling to examine student, high school, and state influences." Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 6.2 (2013): 84.
Naylor, Lorenda A., Heather Wyatt-Nichol, and Samuel L. Brown. "Inequality: Underrepresentation of African American males in US higher education." Journal of Public Affairs Education 21.4 (2015): 523-538.
Noguera, Pedro A. "Introduction to “racial inequality and education: Patterns and prospects for the future”." The Educational Forum. Vol. 81. No. 2. Routledge, 2017.
Taylor, Barrett J., and Brendan Cantwell. "Unequal higher education in the United States: Growing participation and shrinking opportunities." Social Sciences 7.9 (2018): 167.
