The Achievement Gap

Since the days of Brown vs The Board of Education, we have heard the term "separate but equal." The inequality of the education between the races and ethnic groups has always been an issue. The achievement gap is defined as the difference in academic performance between the various races and ethnic groups. In my opinion, the achievement gap happens because of several factors,

• Racism - Racism still affects the climate in our school system.
• Talent gap of teachers - It seems that the best teachers are left to thrive in the better schools. By better schools, I mean that those in the most favorable of socioeconomic demographics. The top graduate students in the teaching curriculum often go to the best of schools. This increases a gap between the learning of those in poverty stricken communities.
• Politics - Politicians are often pressured into looking for results. Therefore, schools are treated like factories that feature production. These schools get pushed out due to low production. Politicians do not want to get stigmatized with bad production.
• Lack of Parental Involvement - The lack of parental involvement is a consistent problem in the educational community. Parents just send kids to school without any involvement. Sometimes, parents refuse to get involved. At other times, parents do not have enough fortitude or persistence to get involved in the process.

What can we do improve this? How difficult will it be to close the gap between the races?