The Educational Disparities Facing Students in the United States Today
By: Jack Dong
In the 1990s, Black students were scoring on average 75% below their white counterparts on almost all standardized tests (Jencks & Phillips, 1998, para. 1). Furthermore, in 2002, Black students averaged a 427 score on SAT math whereas their White counterparts had a score of 533, 106 points higher. Today, Black and Hispanic students are still scoring well below the national average, as well as below White students. Black students still scored 93 points lower in SAT math in 2022 than their peers, and only 7% of Blacks scored above 600 whereas almost a third of White test takers scored above 600 (Smith & Reeves, 2020, para. 4, 7). Despite the government's efforts at reducing the educational achievement gap, minority students today are still considerably behind in education.
Disparities In Education isn’t a Modern Problem
Decades ago, Jim Crow Laws prohibited Black and White students from attending the same schools in the South. Yet, the North was not immune to these racist policies as local school districts also promoted segregated schools. Consequently, students of color had far less access to educational resources than their counterparts, resulting in lower test scores and college enrollment. Other historical racist policies such as redlining restricted Black families from moving to neighborhoods with better schools (Ray et al., 2021). Despite efforts to reverse these policies, the damage had been done, and people of color were stuck to deal with these ever-lasting inequalities. After decades of additional funding for low-income students, white flight has proved federal funding isn’t the solution to the country’s racist past. White flight has led to far less funding in inner-city schools, deteriorating the education of Black and Hispanic students while further preventing them from accessing higher-quality education in White schools (Schneider, 2008).
Source: Guzman & Kollar, 2023
Why Disparities in Education Still Exist
Despite the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka 1954 ruling, schools remain largely segregated today (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts). Students of color are more often enrolled in schools that are primarily composed of minorities, while White students attend a primarily White school. Although there aren’t any policies segregating schools, as mentioned previously, white flight has reduced equal education opportunities among Whites and Blacks. The average White household in 2022 earned about $81,060 while the average Black household earned about $52,860 (Guzman & Kollar, 2023). As a result, predominantly White neighborhoods have more funding for schools, allowing White students to receive a better education. In comparison, neighborhoods dominated by minorities have far less funding for their schools. With this lack of funding, students of color are unable to match the education of their White peers. Less funding means lower test scores and less college enrollment, and in an ever developing society, college is one of the keys to a higher income (“School Districts”, 2022). Without these opportunities, students of color are left in their economic struggles, only worsening the disparities.
A Deeper Look in the Educational Disparities Across the Country
School districts in both the North and South today are struggling to bridge the educational gap as more privileged students are enrolling in private schools. One example is the public school system in Atlanta. Due to Atlanta’s geographic position, the city had to deal with segregation laws during the Jim Crow era that are still being felt today.
Blue represents a majority White population and Orange represents a majority African American population.
Shown on the map here, it is evident that the city of Atlanta is split between races. The North is predominantly White while the South is predominantly African American. The pattern depicted in the map also correlates to income and opportunities available, highlighting the lasting impact of segregation on the city. Northern residents have a far higher median income than residents of the southern half. Likewise, there are fewer opportunities for these residents compared to their northern counterparts.
These patterns are also reflected in the test scores and quality of education among public high schools in Atlanta. Although most of Atlanta’s public high schools are located in the southern half of the city, this doesn’t mean that the northern residents lack access to a quality high school. In fact, the best performing public high schools in Atlanta are located in the north where a majority of students are White. For example, when we compare North Atlanta High School to South Atlanta High School, North Atlanta High School is 40% White and only 21% of students are economically disadvantaged. On the other hand, South Atlanta High School is composed of all minorities and most students are economically disadvantaged. Likewise, test scores reflect these glaring disparities; 67% of North Atlanta's students met the state’s reading benchmark, the highest in the city, while only 9% of South Atlanta’s students met the benchmark (“Atlanta School Landscape Report 2023”, 2023, pp. 5-7). The school performance of South Atlanta High School is generally reflective of the other public high schools in Southern Atlanta. More importantly though, 75% of Atlanta’s public high schools are made up of Black and Hispanic students while only 15% are White students, despite the city being more than 35% White (“Atlanta School Landscape Report 2023”, 2023, pp. 3). These figures highlight the growing enrollment in private schools for Atlanta’s White students while minorities are left with the ever-declining public school system. As a result, the education gap between the rich and poor, and White and Black, are growing despite longtime efforts at combating this issue.
Segregation in NYC
The effects of segregation to a city and the school system is not unique to Atlanta. School districts across the nation face the same problems, such as New York City. Although New York City is such a diverse city, the city is not immune to segregation. The boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island are mostly White while the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn are predominantly Black and Hispanic.
On the left is the demographic makeup of New York City in regards to the White population in the tabulation area and on the right is the median household income in each census tract. The darker blue correlates to a greater White concentration and a higher median income.
Conclusion
Although there have been efforts to address the disparities in education across the nation, they aren’t enough, and youth continue to be held back. Minorities, first-generation, and low-income students often have lower college enrollment than their peers, leaving them with fewer opportunities for social advancement. Thus, society needs to act now. It begins with everyday people to bring attention and awareness to this issue. By doing so, it will draw more social awareness and engagement in bringing an end to these inequalities. Once people start speaking out about these issues and there is public support, it forces the government to act. Government support is crucial in bridging the gap as recent studies analyzed by Kirabo Jackson and Claire Mackevicius from Northwestern University found that “on average, an additional $1,000 per student led to small increases in test scores and a 2 percentage-point boost in high school graduation rates” (Barnum, 2023, para. 15). Clearly, if minority students and the schools they attend receive more money and resources from the government, the education gap can finally be closed.
If society does not act, education inequalities will persist and perpetuate cycles of poverty and limit opportunities for students. When access to quality education depends on where a child lives, it reinforces social and economic divides, making it harder for disadvantaged communities to break from the barriers they are facing. Thus, it is important, as a country, to address these issues and bring about solutions to create a fair and equal society.
Sources/References
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Barnum, M. (2023, November 9). Does more money help schools? most studies say yes, according to a new summary.Chalkbeat. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/16/23724474/school-funding-research-studies-hanushek-does-money-matter/
Boeckenstedt, J. (2023, April). NYC HS Visualization. Public.tableau.com. https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/jonboeckenstedt/viz/NYCHSVisualization/SATasafunctionofothervariables
Data USA: Atlanta, GA. Data USA. (2022). https://datausa.io/profile/geo/atlanta-ga
Demographics by neighborhood tabulation area (NTA). NYC Department of the Aging . (2020, November). https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dfta/downloads/pdf/reports/Demographics_by_NTA.pdf
Domanico, R. (2023, March). A statistical profile of New York’s K-12 educational sector: Race, income and religion. Manhattan Institute. https://manhattan.institute/article/a-statistical-profile-of-new-yorks-k-12-educational-sector-race-income-and-religion
Guzman, G., & Kollar, M. (2023, September 12). Income in the United States: 2022-current population reports. Census.gov. https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2023/demo/p60-279.html
Open NY. (n.d.). HS SAT Scores.
Reeves, R. V., & Smith, E. (2022, March 9). SAT math scores mirror and maintain racial inequity. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/sat-math-scores-mirror-and-maintain-racial-inequity/
Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis Projects. Center for Education Policy Analysis. (n.d.). https://cepa.stanford.edu/projects
Sweta Shah, D. W., Graham, C., & Dina Buchbinder, K. H.-P. (2016, July). The black-white test score gap: Why it persists and what can be done. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-black-white-test-score-gap-why-it-persists-and-what-can-be-done/
