The Achievement Gap: The Elephant Outside of the (Class) Room

A recent article in the Hartford Courant reported that a consultant has been hired by the Windsor Board of Education for $328,000 to complete a study called “Excellence and Equity.”  The alleged purpose is  to discover what’s needed to close the achievement gap.  The $328K consultant stated that he believes that “90% of educators in town have an implicit bias that leads them to expect less from minority students.”  That’s an “elephant in the room we have to talk about”  he said. After teachers objected, the Superintendent claimed the study is non-judgemental and there are no preconceived conclusions. Let’s hope that’s the case. I’m not sure who has the bias here- the teacher’s or the consultant. Manchester teachers may look at this with a feeling of deja vu. A similar project in Manchester was attempted a number of years ago by a person with the same preconceived notions- “It’s the teacher’s fault because they are mostly white and have low expectations of minorities.” The project was largely ineffective because teachers were insulted and did not buy in.

There is no doubt teachers can benefit from learning new teaching strategies to work with all students. They should understand cultural differences and how they affect learning. Good teachers get it that kids are different, have differing backgrounds and learn styles. They are open to new ideas, but assuming a bias before the project even starts is counterproductive. The implication is that the teachers are the only problem, not the low performing students.

There is an elephant to talk about, but it’s outside the classroom, ignored by the expensive consultants and rarely discussed- it’s in the home and involves the  decline of the nuclear family. Recent studies show “the nuclear family is disappearing in the Black community, and most particularly in areas of concentrated poverty. Data on out-of-wedlock births tell us that the rate for Black women under age 30 was 77 percent in 2003 – 2004, compared with 34 percent for White women and 16 percent for Asian American women.  The fact that the highest rates are for women with the least amount of education is particularly disturbing.” ( Barton and Coley, 2010). The rate of out of wedlock births in urban areas is now approaching 85-90%.

Other studies show a high correlation between fatherless students and low academic achievement. Barton and Coley state “It is very hard to imagine progress resuming in reducing the education attainment and achievement gap without turning these family trends around — i.e., increasing marriage rates and getting fathers back into the business of nurturing children.”

Yes, teachers can benefit from additional training and honing their skills in working with all kids, but they will be shoveling sand against the tide if our communities don’t address the root of the problem- fatherless families. Sadly, our legislators ignore the problem too. There has been little discussion about fatherless families, a central cause of many of our social ills. Perhaps the $328,000 would be better spent addressing this problem.