Education inequality comes is a vey vast and complex topic, but I will be focusing on four major education inequalities in the United States: segregation/tracking, fewer resources, less funding, and less qualified teachers.
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More than half of students in the United States attend schools that are racially concentrated, where about 75% of the student body is either white or nonwhite. This is because tracking system group low-income and minority students within the same schools, which often are extremely underfunded. These undefunded schools tend to have fewer resources and less qualified teachers and often exhit lower achademic achievement.
Schools that serve predominately low-income students have less funding and thus less access to instructional resources than thoses serving predominately white school districts. The resources that many schools that serve low-income and minority students lack are access to quality textbooks, computers, college-level course work, including AP, IB, and various other college prep cources. This all adds up for low-income and minority students, making them less prepared to suceed in school.
School Districts that serve predominately white students recieve $23 billion more than school districts that serve predominately low-income students despite serving the same number of students. This means that districts that served predominately students of color recieved $2,200 less than district that were predominately white. How can we expect minority and low-income students to succed when we don't give them the resources they need to recieve a quality education?
Students that attend poor or predominately low-income school districts are more likey to be taught by a teacher who are not fully qualified or don't hold higher-level degree. School districts that predominately serve low-income and minority students have a hard time attracting quality teachers because of the lower pay teachers recieve in their district. This may result in low-income students get getting the support and exra help they need to suceed in school.
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Education is the foundation of society. When we fail to tap into our student potential,our nation at whole take a huge hit. Public education is our most important collective goal. In 1998, if the United States had invested more in funding low-income and minority school districts, which would have helped close the massive achievement gap in these communities, the GDP of the United States could have gone up by more than 500 bilion dollars by 2008. An invest into school districts that serve predominately minority and low-income students is not only an invest in education, but it is an investment in the future of this country. Additionally, if everyone were afforded a qaulity education, many other social issues would be highly minimized. A quality equation for every student is a human right. Not providing every student with a quality education is an injustice on multiple levels.
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