Individual Written Argument

I believe that the achievement gap still exists and I insist that we address the

problem before it worsens. I feel that if we allow it to continue to negatively impact other

people that it will soon become an even larger problem. Some people, however, argue

that the achievement gap has been fixed or that it never existed. This is problematic

because if there are large groups that deny its existence or its impact, then they will be

unwilling to help improve the situation. Therefore, in order to close the achievement

gap, we must first prove that it exists and that it can have crippling effects on the

populations it burdens.

In order to understand the achievement gap a person must understand what the

word means. The achievement gap, as defined by the National Center for Education

Statistics (NCES), is the underperformance of one group compared to another, in which

the groups are typically divided based on factors such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic

background, gender, etc. (NCES, 2015). Additionally, while the achievement gap can be

related to most aspects of life, it is commonly linked to educational achievements.

Therefore, tests are a great way to determine the effects of the achievement gap across

students with different backgrounds. For example, the National Assessment of

Educational Progress stated that black students scored 31 points less on average than

their white counterparts on the NAEP 2011 Mathematics Grade 8 Assessment

(Bohrnstedt, Kitmitto, Ogut, Sherman, & Chan, 2015). Even if a person still does not

believe in the achievement gap, with statistics like this, they cannot deny that there is
something causing this drastic difference between the performance of different races.

There are many different factors that could potentially add to the disparities between

races. Some examples include; the geographic location in which a person is raised, the

income level of their family, the education levels of their parents or friends, the rigor of

their courses, or even a lack of public resources such as libraries or technology. These

are just a few of the many factors that can have negative effects on differing students.

However, when in an argument, it is important to try and understand the other sides

perspective. Therefore, I attempted to understand how they might come to their

conclusions about the gap.

While trying to look at the beliefs of the opposing group, I can understand how

they might think that the achievement gap has been fixed. They may not have known of

these studies and may have never experienced the disadvantages posed by the

achievement gap. Hence, it is understandable how they may not know that it is still

prevalent in our society. However, after learning of statistics as seen in tests such as

the NAEP 2011 Mathematics Grade 8 Assessment, there is a notable difference in the

performance of students based on racial backgrounds. This proves that the

achievement gap exists and helps to disprove anyone who believes that it either does

not exist or has already been fixed. Therefore, now that it is proven we can now attempt

to find a solution to the problem and fix the disparities that are causing this massive

differential in scores. There is no one overarching solution to the achievement gap,

however, I believe that in order to fix the problem we must determine the source. Some

people speculate that the achievement gap is due to lack of motivation, however, I
personally believe that it is a combination of a lack of equally accessible resources and

the inability for all students to attain a solid education without discrimination, whether it

be intentional or not. An example of unintentional discrimination can be seen in a study

in which the researchers discovered that teachers had lower expectations for black

students in comparison to white students (Figlio, 2005). This discovery, although the

teachers may have done it unintentionally, still leads to minority students being at a

disadvantage. Therefore, teachers are less willing to invest time into helping these

students succeed over other students that they view with better expectations. This

becomes an issue because students are unable to get equal attention from teachers

and therefore begin to feel that the system is against them. This idea can be seen from

the writings of David Garner, who reflects on the feelings of minority students who have

given up due to their perceptions of the education systems. Many minority students feel

that the system is against them, so regardless of what they do they feel as if they will fail

and therefore they give up (Gardner, 2007). These ideas that some students hold lead

to self-doubt and a lack of motivation, which only furthers the detrimental effects of the

achievement gap. This article also helps to show the problem from the perspective of

the students who are being put at an educational disposition.

Over the years this issue has continued to exist, however, we are now beginning

to better understand the reasons behind the achievement gap. Hence, we are learning

new ways to help to close the gap between diverse students in the United States. Due

to these studies mentioned we can now disprove people who turn a blind eye and
refuse to acknowledge the achievement gaps existence. Due to this, we are able to gain

more traction in the fight for equal education and opportunities.

Overall, I hope my argument helps to educate people on the major problem of

the achievement gap and to allow people to understand ways to help close the

achievement gap. Additionally, this argument should help to provide evidence that this

predicament is still very much relevant and will only continue to grow if ignored, which is

why it is even more important that we are aware of the situation and do not ignore this

issue in our education system. In conclusion, I feel that my argument has helped to

disprove people who were unwilling to look deeper into the problem. In addition, this

conversation allowed for me to share differing perspectives on the achievement gap and

to provide information for others to take a stance on the situation at hand.

Word Count: 1023

References
Bohrnstedt, G., Kitmitto, S., Ogut, B., Sherman, D., and Chan, D. (2015). School

Composition and the BlackWhite Achievement Gap (NCES 2015-018). U.S.

Department of Education, Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Retrieved April 18, 2017, from

https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/studies/pdf/school_composition_and_the_

bw_achievement_gap_2015.pdf

Figlio, D.N. (2005). Names, Expectations and the Black White Test Score Gap (NBER

Working Paper 11195). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Retrieved April 18, 2017, from http://www.nber.org/papers/w11195.pdf.

Gardner, D. (2007). Confronting the Achievement Gap. The Phi Delta Kappan, 88(7),

542-546. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.librarylink.uncc.edu/stable/20442315

NCES. (2015, September 22). National Assessment of Educational Progress. Retrieved

April 18, 2017, from https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/gaps/