The factors that have caused the achievement gap are varied but can be broken down into three categories: schools, family and community, and health.  Schools are critical when it comes to a student’s educational achievement and opportunities. Because of this, it’s understandable that schools also have a role in the achievement gap.

The expectations, attitudes and interactions that teachers and administrators have with students can deeply impact a student’s ability to succeed. Some teachers and administrators do not believe that low-income and minority students can succeed and this belief comes across in the way they treat these students. This attitude leads to the students themselves believing that they cannot succeed.

Teacher preparation and experience can either help or harm a student’s ability to achieve academically.  In many cases, teachers with the lowest level of training or the fewest years of experiences are placed in schools with high numbers of low-income and minority students. This can lead to teachers who provide poor instruction or to high teacher turnover due to burn out.

Class size can make a difference in the amount of one-on-one attention a student receives or the way a classroom is managed. Larger classes allow students to fall behind without the chance for additional help from their teacher. Bigger classes can also lead to poor classroom management which can hinder a child’s ability to learn and concentrate.

There are more school factors that have lead to and continue the achievement gap. But these three highlight some of the areas where we can begin to make changes.

Resource: “Parsing the Achievement Gap II”