‘Who Is Our Customer?’ and Other Questions Teachers Are Asking
‘Achievement/Opportunity Gap’
A question related to education that I often ponder is the achievement/opportunity gap. Why do different groups of students respond to the same instruction with different learning outcomes, and how can we ensure that all students experience high levels of achievement?
It is a question that schools and communities have grappled with for generations. None of the interventions we have tried seems to have helped. Though I would say that, as a society, we have not been willing to commit large amounts of time and resources to fixing it. It appears to me to make sense that if it has taken generations for a situation to develop, it will take at least a generation to correct it.
We are a nation based on immediate results and easy answers. We also enjoy finding blame rather than committing resources and energy to solving problems. We want guarantees and an easy, simple answer. Our society doesn’t like things that are complex and not a sure bet. The achievement/opportunity gap is nothing if not a complex problem with no guaranteed solutions. All these reasons explain WHY the achievement/opportunity gap has not improved, but it does not answer the question HOW to shrink the achievement/opportunity gap. That involves looking at the reasons why all groups of students do not reach the same levels of success.
Like most issues in schools, the achievement/opportunity gap goes beyond the school walls. Schools, as social institutions, reflect the society in which they are based. We can’t address the achievement/opportunity gap without addressing the gaps in our ability as a society and economy to meet the basic needs of all groups. These are the needs for safety, affordable housing, medical care, food, and other essentials. The need not to experience trauma and the need for healthy development should be a priority for all children before they reach school age.
Our communities need to be dedicated to investing money, time, and political capital to address these horrible inequities in our communities. We need to be aware of the political squabbles and criticisms that some groups use to divert our attention from trying new approaches and solutions to the addressing this achievement/opportunity gap. Many groups who are currently advantaged would prefer to do nothing rather than take a risk and experiment to improve our society for all people. My real fear is that without addressing these inequities, they will fester and grow until they impact our country in ways we can no longer ignore. Sadly, all these reasons seem to ensure we are doomed to continue having an achievement/opportunity gap in our schools unless radical change occurs.