8 Chapter 8: Inequalities in Education

Keywords

School to Prison Pipeline: a pattern which takes children out of school and places them into the juvenile justice system as a form of punishment for behavior within school.

Educator Bias

Critical Race Theory: racism is embedded throughout society by means of legal systems and policies.

School Funding Advantages

Social Class: a division of a society based on social and economic status.

Introduction
American educational policies are systematically inequitable. School policies, educator bias, school funding, and out-of-school factors disproportionately affect students from marginalized groups.

School Policies
School to Prison Pipeline
The school to prison pipeline is a pattern which takes children out of school and places them into the juvenile justice system as a form of punishment for behavior within school. More pointedly, Nancy Heitzeg defines it as “[a] growing pattern of tracking students out of educational institutions… and tracking them directly and/or indirectly into the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems” (12). The school to prison pipeline disproportionately impacts Black and disabled students, as seen below:

At first glance this data is outdated, however it is an extremely helpful and rare source, as it shows us both multiple races instead of just Black and white students, and includes disability data all in one image.

There are many policies that feed into the school to prison pipeline across America, many of which stem from stereotypes of violent teenagers and school kids that were being portrayed in the media during the 1990s known as “super predators.” This threat of superpredators never materialized in schools, but due to parental pressure many school boards had to prove to parents that the school their kids went to was safe and that there would be due diligence paid to those who made the school an unsafe environment. One of the most infamous examples of this is through zero tolerance policies. Zero tolerance is defined by the American Psychological Association as “Mandat[ing] application of predetermined consequences most often severe and punitive in nature, that are intended to be applied regardless of the gravity of the behavior, mitigating circumstances, or situational context.” Similar to mandatory minimum prison sentences, zero tolerance does not consider what caused poor behavior in the first place, and therefore does not solve the root problem of said behavior, thus the behavior may continue as a reaction to continuing outside factors. For example, if a student is being bullied and they lash out either verbally or physically at their bully, only the student who lashed out would be punished for their behavior, rather than looking deeper into what caused the outburst and removing those factors. Now you may be asking, “if zero tolerance policies are so destructive, why did schools adopt them in the first place?” And the answer is that zero tolerance policies are efficient. If a disciplinarian in a school can have a set punishment for a specific action, it creates more immediate responses from the school. Additionally, these policies claim to uphold equality, as everyone who commits the same action would receive the same punishment for said action, however that is not the case. As David Ramey explains, white students receive medical help, as their behavior is often traced back to “behavior disorders such as ADHD,” whereas poor behavior from Black for Hispanic students is viewed as the “result of poor parenting, cultural deficiencies, or poor character” (185). Therefore, white students who act out are more likely to get medical help through doctors, diagnoses, and/or medication, whereas students of color who act out are simply punished for their behavior. However, this is not simply a problem of individual educator bias, but how schools with large Black and Hispanic populations structure their discipline systems. Ramey found in his studies that schools and districts with higher Black populations had higher rates of suspension, expulsion, and criminalized discipline rather than medicalized discipline and therefore we can effectively argue that schools with more students of color focus “disciplinary policies around the principals of the criminal justice system rather than the mental health system” (Ramey 196). Ramey’s study shows that the school to prison pipeline is a systemic issue of pushing students of color out of the classroom, which harms these students long into the future.

This pattern of punishing students of color affects them long into adulthood, as once a student is taken out of school via suspension, expulsion, or the justice system, the student falls behind and is more likely to continue getting in trouble and being forced out of the classroom, therefore diminishing their access to education and affecting them long term, as the following graph shows unemployment data based on race and disability status:

While it would be inaccurate and obtuse to claim that the school to prison pipeline is the only reason for higher unemployment rates for Black Americans, the data in this graph is similar to the one above detailing public school suspensions.

It is time that we recognize that the threats such as superpredators never appeared in our schools and likely will not appear. As a society we are inching towards restorative justice programs for people such as prisoners, but what about our children? We need to forgive school kids for their mistakes and we must help them work through external issues that are causing bad behavior in schools, rather than punishing them punitively and allowing these negative influences to carry on. Policies such as zero tolerance are not inherently racist on paper, but it is clear that the application of these policies has created a racial divide between white and non-white school children, and these policies must be removed from schools.

Brown v Board
Brown vs. Board took place in 1952, when black people and white people were segregated. Being separate but equal was made constitutional after Plessy vs. Ferguson. This event happened before Brown vs. Board. The case happened in Topeka, Kansas. Brown vs. board was the fourth case being segregated and they weren’t as equal to whites as they were supposed to be. A father tried to put his child into a white school and he was denied access. As stated earlier this was the fourth case and the other three cases failed. What made this case special was it actually went on to the Supreme Court. Although it did fail it still made an impact. This case helped black people stand up for themselves. Some examples are: Rosa Parks not giving up her bus seat for a white person. Another example is the Little Rock Nine. This happened in Arkansas. The governor called troops to make sure no black people were to enter the school. Because of the black people not backing down, there were nine students that entered into a white school under armed guard. After the case was over, it was changed so people of color could enter in “white areas.”

Educator Bias
Experienced Teachers
Another school funding impacts are quality educators. Research has shown that quality educators matter. Most of the time low-income students and students of color tend to have less access to the most effective, experienced teachers with knowledge in their content field. There is large variation in average teacher background, as measured by teacher education and experience, and in the percentage of teachers without full credentials (Julian et al., 2000). Teacher qualifications have been tied to student achievement and research has shown that it is one of the most important factors for a student’s ability to succeed. In a study that examines data from California and New York on school funding, salaries, and teacher qualifications, the highest proportions of students that receive inexperienced teachers are students of color. The data found from this study shows the national level of teacher quality in the United States is similar to the international average, the opportunity gap in students’ access to qualified teachers between students of high and low socioeconomic status (SES) is among the largest in the world (Frank & Linda 2012). There is no doubt that experienced teachers matter in the hands of students’ success. Students would have more success if they were being taught by an educator who is experienced in their teaching profession. The study suggests that if disadvantaged students were assigned qualified teachers more often than the achievement gap would decrease overtime. In the figure labeled Figure S.3 below, we can see that urban schools have a far higher percentage of teachers with low preparation levels. Perhaps the most striking finding in the figure is that over a quarter of teachers in urban elementary schools hold only a bachelor’s degree or less, compared to 12 percent and 11 percent in suburban and rural schools, respectively (Julian et al., 2000).

Looking at Figure S.3, it seems that large suburban areas tend to have more resources than counties with heavy urban or rural populations. That being said, quality educators are being distributed to suburban areas where there is also higher fundings. There are differences in the quality of teachers, teacher salaries, and funding spent on quality teachers. Research has shown that schools in high poverty areas lack quality teachers. However, quality educators are the essential tool to helping students succeed in the classroom and outside the classroom.

Discussing race in the classroom
CRT
The achievement gap is the disparity in academic achievement between white students and students of color. African American students consistently trail their white counterparts in standardized testing, and they have higher college dropout rates and a lower chance of majoring in the “hard” sciences and mathematics (Paige & Witty, 2010). There is much literature on why the achievement gap is so persistent within education, and one partial explanation is the fact that teachers are inherently biased. Teachers are crucial agents of socialization for children, and there is much evidence that teachers have a large impact on their students’ understanding and behaviors around race (Paluck & Green, 2009).

Educator bias plays a large role in perpetuating the achievement gap.
One of the factors playing into educator bias is the idea of being “color blind.” [define color blindness academically] When faced with instances of racism, teachers tend to rely on color-blind strategies that aim to distract from, not address, the problem at hand. This means that situations of racism are not addressed in a constructive way, where students can learn and grow. Racism is also treated as a historical event, rather than a continuous struggle for equality. This teaches students that the fight for racial equality is no longer a necessity, when this is not true.
Another reason educator bias exists is the existence of what is called “Multicultural Education,” which was developed to challenge racial injustice and empower students of color. [talk about multicultural education?] However, most administrators encourage their teachers to introduce students to the “safe parts” of different cultures. This includes celebrating cultures’ food, holidays, and music. This fails to address racial injustice faced by these cultures, though, and so children are taught that there are little or no problems surrounding the equality of these cultures. It is implied that the necessary work is being done, when in reality, it is not. Furthermore, there is no obligation among teachers to understand the relationship between race/culture and power/inequality. Without this crucial understanding, they are obviously not able to teach it to their students.

When examining punishment, it is found that teachers negatively perceive and punish some minority students more than their white counterparts. This is seen to be true even when all students are displaying the same behaviors.

When looking at literature regarding evaluations of students, it is seen that teachers evaluate different groups of students differently.

School Funding Advantages
School Choice
School choice is something that might not be an option for all. This could be because of money situations, availability, and many other factors. For a parent to choice a school, they might want information about the schools they could possibly choose for their child or children. The school can hold special days for parents to come and hear about what the school is about. As must as the school does, this might not be enough for the parents. The parents will more than likely do their own resource on their options. This still might not be enough. The most common way people hear about schools is by hearing it from other parents. An example is: If a parent is picking up their child at daycare, and they are looking for a school to send their child to they might ask other parents who have a child or children enrolled in a school. As mentioned earlier, some parents or students might not get to pick a school. This can range from parents picking a preschool for their child or children to a student trying to pick a college. Money is a big factor when it comes to school choice. This is because private schools normally cost more than public schools. An example is if a senior in high school is picking a college and they want to go to one school, but they can’t really afford it they might choose a different school that is cheaper.

Geography
School funding affects all communities. One of the key roles that contribute to the differences in school funding are school district boundaries along racial cleavages. A series of panel models was used to estimate the effect of segregation on differences in spending. The results have shown that within these segregated counties, districts with larger black populations collect less in local revenue but have a higher tax burden (Karin 2021). Education is vital and it is especially important at a young age. Now that does not mean that accessing quality education is easy. Since Brown v Board, segregation was declared unconstitutional but that does not mean there aren’t policies that create the possibility of segregation between districts. School district boundaries define what school a child attends and play a large role in determining the property tax residents pay (Karin 2021). The district-level data will help us understand the disparity in school fundings within high poverty communities and low poverty communities. There is efficient data that show the characteristics that lead to increased inequality. The first characteristic is the taxation in the districts. The last characteristic is test scores showcasing the school quality within these districts. The role of boundaries is important because they have been created in a way to exclude people and concentrate resources. By regulating housing, zoning, taxation, or other resource policies, political boundaries can serve in ways to keep residents more homogeneous and exclude certain races or economic classes (Karin 2021). Areas where there is a large population of minorities are areas that tend to be impacted the most. Where there is increased economic segregation between districts is where inequality in education lies. The majority of local revenue for public education is garnered through property taxes (Karin 2021). School fundings can be attributed to household incomes in districts. In trying to find how racial segregation can contributes to unequal spending between school districts, Karin Kitchen found that districts with larger black residents in segregated counties collect less in local revenue than in integrated counties. However, these black families did not contribute less on a per household basis. This meant that an increase in the percentage point of black residents would be associated with an increase in tax burden. School districts with a larger percentage of black residents were receiving less per child local revenue (Karin 2021). These low income districts are collecting less, but they are paying more of their income. Another characteristic of racial segregation in districts was school quality. An increase in the percentage of black residents is associated with lower test scores, but this is even more true in segregated counties (Karin 2021). Racial segregation does have a role in the unequal distribution of school funding between school districts.

Up to date class materials
With the unequal distribution of school funding as a national problem, this impacts areas within a school. One of the aspects are academic resources and materials that a school needs in order to operate and help students succeed. While schools with higher funding are able to accumulate an abundance of academic resources, schools with lower funding do not have the privilege of obtaining those resources for their students. This in fact decreases the quality of education for students in low-income areas as those areas are most likely to not get the funding they need. To illustrate how large the inequalities in the distribution of academic resources are, we will be taking a look at data from California schools from K-12. One of the aspects of academic resources are AP classes. Within a given district, students in high poverty schools are likely to have less opportunities to have advanced classes at the high school level (Julian et al., 2000). Most of the time disadvantaged students are located in urban areas, these areas are most likely to receive the lowest amount of school funding. With that being said, these schools do not have the capacity to offer advanced courses needed for certain students who do have the potential to take these courses. Another similar report found that in Virginia’s schools, ​​almost all high schools with low concentrations of poverty were able to provide Calculus and Physics, which are important admissions criteria for many colleges and universities. Meanwhile, in high poverty high schools, only 57 percent offered Calculus and less than half offered Physics (The CommonWealth Institute 2021). The limit in funding for schools are just consequences for a student’s success later on down the road. Another report that will dig deeper into student achievement in schools with concentrated poverty. We discuss the resources and classes available at over 1,800 public schools across Virginia. The findings in this report are clear. Students who have fewer resources outside of the school building are getting shortchanged in the classroom as well and the differences are striking (The CommonWealth Institute 2021). Below is a graphic showcasing high and low poverty schools in Virginia.

In high poverty schools in Virginia, schools spend less on educators and academic materials with state and local dollars, and have fewer advanced courses. This all goes back to the lack of school funding in high poverty schools. As shown in the graphic, those who get less resources and support are largely students of color. Not only are students impacted by school funding but educators as well. The average teacher salary in high poverty schools was about $46,000 in the 2013-2014 school year compared to over $57,000 in low poverty schools (The CommonWealth Institute 2021). High poverty schools in Virginia are spending less on quality educators for students who do need that quality education. Fundings for schools in high poverty districts obtain less state and localities per student than low poverty schools. As illustrated in the graphic above, high poverty schools spent 10 percent less per student on instructors (teachers and aides), instructional materials, and professional development than low poverty schools using state and local resources in 2013-2014. Over the years, there have been a great number of disparities in student achievements in high and low poverty schools. There are clear consequences to providing fewer resources to students in high poverty schools. Those consequences will affect a student’s opportunity to higher education, a career, or opportunities to obtain a higher socioeconomic status. There needs to be government and state action to improve the distribution of academic resources and opportunities for students in high poverty schools. This will ensure that all students can succeed in the classroom and give them opportunities outside of the classroom.

Out of School Impacts on Students
Affect on student performances
Student performance is affected by social classes, sex/gender, behavior, disabilities, language, and more. One way student performance is tested is by stranded testing. Standard testing is a test where everyone answers the same questions and it is graded and the grades are compared to each other. Standardize can cause anxiety, stress, lack of sleep, and more. Sometimes before you even take the test they will know your score just based on the factors listed earlier. Some examples of this are: Normally females will test higher on the English test than men, but men will test higher than females in Science and Math. African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to test lower on these tests. As mentioned earlier, language can play an impact on a student’s performance. If a student’s primary language is English and they are in an English-speaking school they may struggle with understanding what the teacher is saying. This also affects stranded tests because that student probably won’t score high because they can’t understand the test or what the teachers have been teaching them about. Being in extracurricular activities is something that most people won’t think of when it comes to student performance. Not being in an extracurricular activity can cause a student to feel disconnected from the classroom. An example of this is: A student is not in football, but all of the boys in his class are. Because of him not being in football, the student is bullied for not being in football. Extracurricular activities can also help students make friends and they can help shy people. The last topic is parenting. If a student’s legal guardian/s are busy working and this student has siblings, the student may have to help with chores or take care of their siblings. This can cause the student to not study for tests, not do their homework, etc.

Social Class
In society, we are put into different classes based on the amount of economic status we or our parents have. This is called Social Class. There are five different classes in the U.S. They are Upper Class, Middle Class, Working Class, and the Lower Class. Some of these classes are broken down into other classes such as Upper-Upper Class, Lower-Upper Class, Upper Middle, Lower Middle, Working-Poor, and Underclass.
The upper class is the highest social class you can reach. This class makes up roughly 1% of members of a household. This class is also called “the rich”, the capitalist class, etc. To be considered a part of this class your household has to have a net value of at least one million dollars. People who are in this class have most likely inherited their money or have become very successful in their careers. Some examples of these careers are being a CEO of a successful business, being a celebrity, etc.
The next level is the Middle class. This class has been broken up into two classes as I stated earlier: Upper Middle and Lower Middle. Some of the indicators breaking the middle class apart are education, income, occupation, etc. The upper-middle class is the people who are just below the Upper class. They still have a higher status, but it isn’t quite high enough to be considered upper class. This group is normally made up of professional white-collar jobs. Some examples of these jobs are accountants, management consultants, civil engineers, and more. Some people consider these jobs the “tie and suit jobs.” They take roughly 100,000 dollars annually. Lower middle-class people have some education and a comfortable salary. Which is normally between 32,500 and 50,000 dollars annually. When people think of the middle class this is the class they normally think of because one-third of the population in the U.S. belongs in this category. This class has stereotypical white-collar jobs such as teachers, nurses, etc.
The next class is the working class. This class makes up around thirty-five percent of the population. These people have below-average paying jobs. These jobs are commonly called blue-collar jobs. Blue-collar jobs are jobs in the working class that usually involve physical labor. Examples of these blue-collar jobs are retail positions, road construction, etc.
The lowest social class is the lower class. This class can also be called working poor, or underclass. If someone is working and they aren’t making enough they are the ones called working poor. If someone is not in the labor force, living off of food stamps, etc they are considered the underclass or the poor. They are using unemployment. To be accepted for unemployment you have to prove you are at least looking for a job. These people are usually lacking a high school education.

Role on Education
Higher Classes
Now that you have a little more information about the social classes I will now tell you about how they play a role in education. The higher the social class, which includes upper and upper-middle-class, the more likely they will be sending their child to a more prestigious school. This means the students will most likely have better teachers, better textbooks, better sports, etc. The students will also be more “educationally ready.” This means if you have two students entering Kindergarten, and one is from a higher class and one is from the working class, the student who is from the higher class will most likely already know his ABCs, numbers, colors, etc. Because of the school environment, this could influence the children to go on to higher education. Also if the student’s guardians are making a good amount of money, the student will want to make around that amount so they will go on to higher education to make that amount or more than that amount.
Lower Classes
The lower class describes the lower middle class, working-class, and lower class. The schools these children will go to will most likely have low-quality teachers, older or cheaper books, sports may be limited, and more. About one-fifth of caucasian are in poverty and the percentage for nonwhites is even higher. Taking that into consideration, black students are more likely to go to higher education so they can try to help their families. Students from this class are also less likely to be in extracurricular sports. This is because they may not have the money to be in it or they may have to watch their younger siblings. Not being in extracurriculars could make the student feel left out. These students are more likely to feel disconnected from the classroom because of not being in activities, the color of their skin, etc. Latino youth and children have a higher chance of being born to a single mom or a large household. This can cause issues because the mom could still be in school, working a full-time job just to keep up with bills, and more. Because of this, the older siblings might have to take care of their younger siblings. This causes an issue at school because these students, who have to take care of their younger siblings, may not get their homework done. These students could also have issues when it comes to speaking English. They may only know a certain amount of English so they won’t fully understand what their teachers are saying. They also could do poorly on tests because they don’t know what the question is asking.
Conclusion
Teachers and school systems are unprepared for a cohesive, multicultural education where students are given the same opportunities to learn, grow, and achieve.

Bibliography

Adamson, & Darling-Hammond, L. (2012). Funding disparities and the inequitable distribution of teachers: Evaluating sources and solutions. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 20(37), 1–46. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v20n37.2012

Betts, J. R., Danenberg, A., & Reuben, K. S. (2000). Equal Resources, equal outcomes? the distribution of school resources and Student Achievement in California. Public Policy Institute of California.

Kitchens, K. (2020). Dividing lines: The role school district boundaries play in spending inequality for public education. Social Science Quarterly, 102(1), 468–491. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12886

Unequal opportunities: Fewer resources, worse outcomes for students in schools with concentrated poverty. The Commonwealth Institute. (2021, April 13). Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://thecommonwealthinstitute.org/research/unequal-opportunities-fewer-resources-worse-outcomes-for-students-in-schools-with-concentrated-poverty/.