The Educational System: How To Promote Students of Color
Since the beginning of education in America, specifically within the school system, it’s clear that there has been a disadvantage for students of color and the education levels they receive. Despite the system making great advances and being far more equal than ever; students of color continue to be held back from AP and honors classes. The achievement gap is undeniable. As shown in Source G, the statistics show that students of color have a lower enrollment in AP/honors classes in comparison to other students. Programs should be scouting for gifted students at equal rates, school counselors should be encouraging their students of color to pursue these classes, and schools should be working on expanding the access to gifted education to students of color. Students of color deserve to have the same opportunities and enrollment rates as white students and schools should be taking that extra initiative to eliminate the undeniable enrollment gap.
Before entering a higher level learning such as an AP course, students with an academic label of “gifted” tend to be favored. Source D states, “Black and low-income high-achievers are less likely to be identified in the third grade than other student groups, and the gaps substantially grow by the time they’ve reached the eighth grade.” This means that schools are not equally scouting for gifted students. Due to this many students of color miss out on opportunities and their education ends up paying the price in the long run. Some would say it’s easy to tell apart a gifted student from a regular student, however this isn’t the case. Source D shows the results of a gifted screening adaptation for second graders and says: “it led to large increases in the number of minority and low-income students who were classified.” The answer is clear: schools should be taking the extra time and effort to provide all students with an equal opportunity to be scouted for gifted programs. This can include eliminating the unfair exams needed to enter higher learning curriculums and training teachers in racial bias so that they're less likely to overlook the talent of students of color.
Students' first encounter with AP and honors classes start with their counselors. Parents and students trust that these advisors will provide them with the necessary knowledge and understanding of what is expected of them. However, an issue arises when students state that the people, in this case their counselors, who are meant to be helping them are the ones discouraging them from entering higher level classes. Some would argue that counselors are meant to provide support for students and are placed in order to help students. However, this is not always the case; Source F helps bring to light the struggle that many students of color may face by quoting a concerned parent’s experience, “Upon entering high school in rural GA, my daughter’s counselor was discouraging her from signing up for AP courses. Her exact words, ‘AP courses require a lot of time and are difficult. Are you prepared to pass the class?’” Counselors can be one of the many factors of why students of color are prevented from entering these higher-leveled classes. Counselors should want the best for all their students, and schools should be taking the extra initiative and focusing on giving all students an equal chance to succeed, counselors need to be retrained to better understand students of color and encourage them more.
Along with all of this, students of color often being low income does not help improve the academic achievement gap. As Source B states, “Black and Latinx students’ AP performance also has suffered in the absence of resources and support. The College Board says that AP teachers should have at least 5 years of experience and a master’s degree—credentials less prevalent among teachers in lower-income communities.” Teachers who are just incoming, not fully qualified are being placed to teach students of color, so even if they’re in AP classes, they aren’t passing them at the same rate. Some may believe that there is not a single factor that we can pinpoint in this situation as they’re new teachers; however, providing more resources and expanding the access to low income communities where the majority are students of color is needed. By expanding the access to gifted and higher leveled classes we are also setting up students of color for higher enrollment rates in these classes. Schools should be taking an extra initiative to be able to provide their students with higher classes such as AP and honors.
In conclusion, it’s clear that there has been a disadvantage for people of color and the education they receive even in today's system. Schools should take an extra initiative to promote students of color into these AP classes, honors classes, and gifted courses. This can all be done if schools start scouting for gifted students at equal rates no matter the race, counselors encourage their students of color to pursue the higher leveled classes, and schools should take the extra time, effort, and resources to expand the access to gifted education to students of color and low income. By putting in all this effort towards our school systems we can start seeing enrollment rates grow and see our students of the next generation come from all backgrounds and ethnicities.