For decades, the United States has strived to enhance equality. It has given particular focus to ensuring that men and women have equal access to opportunities. As a result of the government’s efforts, the gender achievement gap has become narrower. For example, today, girls and women are able to access educational and employment opportunities. The present situation stands in sharp contrast to previous years when women were denied opportunities. While the country’s efforts to address gender inequalities are commendable, more work needs to be done. It has been observed that regarding achievement in such subjects as mathematics, girls lag behind boys. This observation should worry the nation and prompt it to take action. Schools should spearhead the implementation of programs intended to narrow and eventually eliminate the achievement gap.
Article Summary
The gender achievement gap has been the subject of discussion in the news and within the academic community. It appears that policymakers and other stakeholders are striving to develop solutions that will allow the US to eliminate the achievement gap. Jenny Anderson (2018) authored an article in which she describes the problem of the gender achievement gap. She begins by presenting the findings of a study which established that the gender achievement gap is starkest in wealthy schools that are dominated by students from the white community. Anderson then proceeds to describe how the study was conducted. The researchers behind the study examined test results for students in grades three to eight. A number of intriguing findings were made. Among these is that in general, the gender achievement gap across the nation is not significant. Another observation that the researchers made is that in poorer school districts, girls performed better than boys in mathematics (Anderson, 2008). On the other hand, richer school districts tend to register a significant performance gap with boys outperforming girls. Anderson notes that the US is not isolated with regard to the gap as other countries grapple with the same problem. She then identifies the factors that could be responsible for the gender achievement gap. Apart from gender, a student’s parents, community and school also play a critical role in determining their performance (Anderson, 2018). Another issue that Anderson addresses is that while boys perform better than girls in mathematics, girls fare better in reading. She concludes by challenging society to take action to eliminate the gender achievement gap.
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Relation of Topic to Achievement Gap
The main task in this assignment was to identify a current issue that relates to achievement gap. Anderson’s article shows how the gender achievement gap is linked to the larger question of achievement gaps. Essentially, achievement gap concerns realities which show how different people perform differently based on such issues as their gender, education levels or race. Generally, minorities and marginalized individuals tend to perform poorly in endeavors like education and access to quality healthcare. Anderson’s article helps to answer the question of why boys outperform girls in mathematics achievement. More importantly, the article highlights the impact that gender has on academic achievement. From Anderson’s article, it is evident that one’s gender can either hinder or promote their academic pursuits. Whereas girls are advantaged in reading, boys record better performance in mathematics. By examining the achievement gap in terms of gender, it is possible to understand the dynamics of learning and to take action to address any disparities. Since this paper is based on this article, it can be argued that the paper relates directly to the topic of achievement gap.
Current School-Based Policy
Schools in the United States recognize that the achievement gap is a serious problem that demands urgent solutions. There are school districts across the US which have adopted measures aimed at narrowing the achievement gap. Challenging students to reject gender stereotypes is one of the measures that appear to be effective (Lee, 2018). Among the factors that have been blamed for the gender gap are cultural and traditional notions regarding gender. For example, in poorer school districts, it has been observed that boys fail to dedicate time and effort to their studies as they pursue the cultural ideal of masculinity. The cultures from which these boys hail mislead them that rejection of academic pursuits is a demonstration of masculine power. School districts have developed programs which seek to reform the perspectives of these students. For example, in the Oakland Unified School District in California, schools have established a program dubbed Manhood Development Project (Lee, 2018). As the name suggests, this program provides students with such services as mentoring and character education. The main purpose of the program is to challenge male students, especially those from minority communities to remain committed to their studies. Initial outcomes suggest that the program is working. An encouraging spike in the graduation rate of black students has been linked to the program. Schools facing a similar problem of gender achievement disparity should follow the example that the Oakland Unified School District has set. It is important to note that there are other initiatives that are being implemented as part of efforts to eliminate the gender achievement gap. These include designing curricula that account for the social dynamics which shape student performance, and challenging learners to dedicate time to all subjects (Lee, 2018).
Recommendation
The interventions identified above have helped schools to promote equality and parity in academic achievement. However, the fact that the gender achievement gap persists indicate that the interventions have failed to fully eliminate the problem. It is therefore critical for schools to adopt other initiatives and programs. Involving parents in education is one of the strategies that are being presented as the most effective. Parents are being urged to ensure that the home environment facilitates learning (“How do we Help”, 2014). The implementation of this strategy promises to help boys improve their performance in subjects where they lag behind girls. As they create a conducive home environment, parents are encouraged to ensure that while at home, students can extend the lessons that they have gained in class. Essentially, the home environment should help to establish a connection between school and the home. This connection is vital as it ensures that learning is continuous. It is true that this strategy is particularly designed to help boys who perform poorly. However, it can be expected that when applied appropriately, this strategy can also help girls to improve their performance. Schools should not leave it to parents to fix the gender disparity alone. They should provide guidance and other forms of support. The elimination of the gender achievement disparity can only be accomplished when all stakeholders join forces and execute their respective mandates faithfully.
In conclusion, the strength of the American economy hinges on the competence of its workforce. Since economic health is tied to competence, the US needs to invest more in education and training. Reforming its education system with the goal of eradicating the gender achievement gap is one of the measures that the nation can undertake. Research has shown that there is a glaring gap that should be fixed urgently. While there are some subjects where girls perform better than boys, boys record better performance in others. This disparity points to a poorly-designed educational system that fails to promote equality and parity. The government needs to collaborate with parents and schools to provide students will all the support and resources that they need to perform better.
References
Anderson, J. (2018). The US gender gap in math is starkest in richest, whitest school districts. Quartz. Retrieved October 26, 2018 from https://qz.com/1304727/the-us-gender-gap-in-math-scores-is-widest-in-the-richest-whitest-school-districts/
How do we help boys close the academic gender gap? (2014). PBS News Hour. Retrieved October 26, 2018 from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/classroom-rigged-boys
Lee, J. (2018). As gender achievement gap narrows, schools have work to do. TrustED. Retrieved October 26, 2018 from https://www.k12insight.com/trusted/gender-achievement-gap-narrows/
