Colonial era

The earliest forms of education in the U.S. were primarily religiously motivated. The main purpose of education in the 17th and 18th was to teach children how to read the bible and abide by Puritan values.^[2][3] These values were espoused by religious white colonists, who would often try to assimilate indigenous children into white puritan standards and convert them to Christianity. The purpose of formal education for indigenous peoples was to enforce assimilation/acculturation into European and Christian standards.^[4] Through the process of assimilation, indigenous populations were often forced to give up cultural traditions, including their native language. Forced assimilation would continue past colonial times. In the early 20th century, indigenous children in certain regions of the U.S. were forcibly taken from their families and enrolled in boarding schools.^[5][6] The purpose of this was to "civilize" and assimilate indigenous communities into American society.

Historically, African-Americans in the United States have also had several troubles trying to access quality education. In colonial times, many white people felt that if Black people, slaves in particular, were to become educated they would start to challenge the systems of power that kept them oppressed.^[7] Southern states feared slaves would begin to act out against their slave owners and/or escape to Northern states if they were educated. This caused several states to enact laws that prohibited slaves from learning to read or write. These were popularly referred to as anti-literacy statutes. Although punishment varied from state to state, several southern states (Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia) would criminally prosecute any slave who attempted to learn to read or write.^[8] In some cases, white people could also be punished for attempting to educate slaves. Religious groups in certain communities would attempt to make schools for African-Americans to read or write, but it was often met with severe opposition from white community members.

Civil War and Reconstruction era

The Civil War and the emancipation of slaves led to a push for more education of African-Americans. Most Black people did not have access to education until the Reconstruction era following the Civil War, when public schools started to become more common.^[9]

Newly freed African-Americans prioritized education, and many considered it an effective way to empower their communities. In Southern states, Black residents would engage in collective action and collaborate with the Freedmen's Bureau, northern philanthropic organizations, and other white groups to ensure their access to public education.^[10] During the Reconstruction Era the enrollment of Black students began to increase because of the increased population of freed blacks.^[11]

Although the enrollment rate of Black students would increase from that point in time onward, there is still evidence of unequal achievement between white students and students from non-white racial identities, as well as between students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds.^[12]

Jim Crow era

During the Jim Crow time, schools were still segregated, which would often result in Black schools receiving less funding. This meant Black students were educated in worse facilities, with fewer resources and less well-paid teachers than their white counterparts. Furthermore, under Jim Crow, segregation had many negative effects that are seen today. For example, since segregated schools had fewer resources, less experienced teachers, and overall less funding there was a lower expectation for student academic achievement. This academic achievement gap is something that is still seen in the 21st century.(1. Furthermore, due to the nature of the environment at the time, there were increased dropout rates for black students in these segregated schools. This can limit their future employment opportunities and perpetuate a cycle of poverty and inequity. Furthermore, Fewer African-American students would enroll in school than their white counterparts and they had less public schools available to them. The majority of Black students would not continue their education past an elementary school level.^[13]

In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) it was decided that educational facilities were allowed to segregate white students from students of color as long as the educational facilities were considered equal. In practice, separate educational facilities meant fewer resources and access for Black and other minority students. On average white students received 17–70 percent more educational expenditures than their Black counterparts.^[14] The first Federal legal challenge of these unequal segregated educational systems would occur in California Mendez v. Westminster (1947) followed by Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

To further elaborate, Brown v Board of Education was a landmark Supreme Court case that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. This decision was issued on May 17, 1954, by the United States Supreme Court. The case was brought by the NAACP in order to challenge segregation in Kanas, which prohibited African Americans from attending white schools.The Court held that segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees all citizens the same protection under the law. It held that segregation perpetuated feelings of inferiority among African American children and hindered their abilities to learn, and therefore ordered the integration of schools. It's important to note that the Brown decision served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement.Brown V Board of Ed

Integration

In the United States, integration is the process of ending race-based segregation within public and private schools, and it is generally referred to in the context of the Civil Rights Movement. Integration has historically been employed as a method for reducing the achievement gap which exists between white and nonwhite students in the United States.^[15] Students in integrated schools also learn to be more accepting of others. This has been shown to reduce prejudice on the basis of race.^[16]

Studies conducted in schools across the country have found that racial integration of schools is effective in reducing the achievement gap.^[17] In 1964, in accordance with the Civil Rights Act of that year, the United States Congress commissioned sociologist James Coleman to direct and conduct a study on school inequality in the U.S. The report, known colloquially as the Coleman Report, was a landmark study in the field of sociology and education. The report detailed the extreme levels of racial segregation in schools which still persisted in the Southern United States despite the ruling of the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. Coleman found that Black students benefited greatly from learning in mixed-race schools. Therefore, Coleman argued that busing Black students to white school districts to integrate would be more effective in reducing the disadvantages of Black students as opposed to an increase in funding which the report had discovered impacted student achievement very little.^[18] These findings would serve as an influential factor in the creation of the practice known as desegregation busing.^[19]

Race

Race is often a big contributor to inequalities in education,^[20] and it can explain the widening achievement and discipline gaps between white students and students of color. Implicit bias and stereotyping perpetuate systemic injustices and lead to unequal opportunities.

Race influences teachers' expectations and in turn, influences achievement results. A 2016 study showed that non-Black teachers had much lower expectations of Black students than Black teachers who evaluated the same student. White teachers were 12% less likely to think the student would graduate from high school and 30% less likely to think they would graduate from college.^[21] Previous studies have proved the importance of teachers' expectations: students whose teachers believe they are capable of high achievement tend to do better (Pygmalion effect).^[22] In another study, it was found that white teachers were more likely to give constructive feedback on essays if they believed the student who wrote it was white. Essays perceived to be written by Black or Latino students were given more praise and less guidance on how to improve their writing.^[23] One reason for this lack of quality feedback could be that teachers don't want to appear racist so they grade Black students more easily; this is actually detrimental and can lead to lower achievement over time.^[24]

One research study done to look at how implicit bias affects students of color found that white teachers who gave lessons to Black students had greater anxiety and delivered less clear lectures. They played recordings of these lectures to non-Blacks students who performed just as badly, proving that it wasn't a result of the students' ability but rather implicit bias in the teachers.^[25]

Non-Asian minority students often don't have equal access to high-quality teachers which can be an indication for how well a student will perform.^[26] However, there has been conflicting research on how large the effect truly is; some claim having a high-quality teacher is the biggest predictor of academic success^[27] while another study says that inequalities are largely caused by other factors.^[26]

Moreover, a study from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 showcased that two teachers who teach the same students will disagree on the expectations of the student's academic career, and in the case of African American students, the belief was that they will achieve less academically. This study found that African American teachers have greater expectations for African American children succeeding academically than Non-African American teachers, additionally, these disparities increased for white male teachers towards African American female students.^[28]

It is important that more information is gathered about the implicit biases held by teachers which can affect the way they teach students. Students of color are affected by these biases so more research by education about racial disparities will help determine the role of bias in the educational system.^[29]

There is a cultural disconnect between white teachers and African American students that makes it hard for African-American students to learn effectively as they do not understand their teacher's instruction style which varies greatly from African-American adult's instruction style. African American teachers know the instruction style that African American students are used to which makes it easier for them to learn from them. Additionally, African-American children often look to their teachers in school as a guide to help them succeed in life because their parents and other family members may not be able to showcase them that same support. White teachers may not understand the need for extra support because traditional white, middle-class students have family support that does not require white teachers to be role models and guides. It is important that this discrepancy in family life for African American children and white children is realized and understood so that teachers can support students the way they need to. However, inequality in education can diminish if teachers of different ethnicities and races are taught how to support students of different ethnicities and races. If teachers are taught more about their implicit biases and how to deal with them then, they will be able to teach students in a more fair manner.^[30]

Strategies that can be implemented by White teachers to support African American students properly can include having an authoritative and disciplined style which includes maintaining control of the classroom, viewing themselves as a second mother which means caring for them as their own children, promoting interpersonal relationships, as well as protective instincts of the children's well being, and to be racially conscious which means that having class materials which are multicultural even if discussions about race are not directly done. These strategies are subtle ways that help white teachers connect to African American students in a more effective way helping students learn better.^[31]

Another key recommendation is to push and hold African-American students to the same academic levels and expectations as white students. By expecting the same level of greatness it helps African American students develop more successfully and confidently in their academic journey.^[32]

White supremacy in curriculum

Main article: White supremacy in U.S. school curriculum

19th Century woodcut depiction of the Southampton Insurrection, led by Nat Turner. While one history textbook covered the White casualties from the revolt, it did not cover the much larger number of casualties inflicted on enslaved Black Americans by Whites afterward.

A range of scholars from at least the late 19th century to the present have produced arguments that white supremacy exists in U.S. school curriculum, oftentimes to the detriment of non-White students Americans' learning outcomes and the whole of American society. In the early 20th century, Historian Carter G. Woodson argued that U.S. education indoctrinated students into believing White people were superior, and Black people inferior, by showcasing White accomplishments and effectively denying that Black people had made any contributions to society or had any potential.^[33] In his experience, the racial message contained in schools' teachings was so strong that he made the claim, "there would be no lynching if it did not start in the schoolroom."^[33] More recent scholarship still points to the overrepresentation of perspectives, histories, and accomplishments associated with European and White American culture, and the simultaneous underrepresentation of the perspectives, histories, and accomplishments of non-White Americans'.^[34][35][36] Swartz (1992) and King (2014) describe school curriculum has been structured by what they call a masternarrative.^[37][38] Swartz defines this term as an account of reality that advances and reaffirms White people's dominance in American society through the centering of White achievements and experiences, while consistently omitting, simplifying, and "distorting" non-White peoples (p. 341-342).^[38]

As an example, Powell and Frankenstein (1997) draw attention to Eurocentrism in the field of mathematics, arguing that the critical advancements made in societies outside of Europe, including Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, India, and China, are very frequently ignored in the narrative that the Ancient Greeks pioneered most math, which Europe then later salvaged after the Dark Ages.^[39] In her analysis of American history textbooks, Swartz (1992) highlights a repeated failure to provide meaningful information about Black Americans, namely throughout slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement. Instead, textbooks often frame slavery and other issues in ways that encourage sympathy with White Americans, including slave-holders. Multiple textbooks include discussions of slave revolts in terms of the damage they caused White people instead of focusing on the need of enslaved Black people to overthrow the system of slavery (pp. 346–347).^[38] Other scholars, including Brown (2014), Elson (1964) Huber et al. (2006), Mills (1994), and Stout (2013) have argued that Black people,^[40] Native Americans,^[35] East Asian and Southeast Asian Americans, and Mexican Americans have been subject to marginalization, silencing, or misrepresentation in U.S. school curriculum.^[41][36][42]

Other scholars have argued that White (and also middle-class) cultural norms are employed in the creation and delivery of school curriculum, to the detriment of students who do not have the same cultural background. Crawford (1992) writes that White American values such as "competition," "confrontation"[12] structure class proceedings when students with different upbringings may be uncomfortable with or confused by these conventions. The same is true, she argues, for activities such as group work and engaging in dialogues with the teacher, rather than perhaps receiving information silently.^[43] Crawford also asserts that oftentimes schools do not look to conform to their students' specific life circumstances, thereby obstructing these students' educational paths (p. 21).^[43] Hudley and Mallinson (2012) discuss the use of "standardized English" in schools and how that impacts students, who speak a wide range of types of English. "Standardized English" refers to the version of English used in American academia and professional settings, which is also the type of English spoken by middle-class White Americans (pp. 11–12). The authors cite a consensus among linguists that there is no objective standard for English, and that in reality, standardized English has been judged to be "standard" because it is what is spoken by people who wield power in society (p. 12). They emphasize that children who grow up speaking standardized English enjoy linguistic privilege when both when learning how to read and write, when interacting with teachers. At the same time, students who grow up speaking with different English conventions suffer stigmatization due to their speech patterns and experience the added difficulty of having to learn a whole new set of language conventions while participating in "normal" schoolwork (p. 36). The authors hold that by holding minority students to historically White English norms, schools often communicate that these students must make themselves whiter to be seen as acceptable. This is potentially true for African American Vernacular-speaking students in particular (p. 36).^[44]

Effects

Crawford (1992) and Hudley and Mallinson (2012) state that non-white students may struggle in school and in life due to their races' and cultures' marginalization in curriculum.^[43][44] Other scholars have raised concerns about the lack of opportunities to see themselves as having academic or professional potential.^[33][45] These authors assert that lack of meaningful use and discussion of non-white perspectives, practices, and feats may lead minority students to feel disillusioned with school, to disengage from learning, and to doubt their own capabilities.^{[33][43][44][45]} In a study on internalized racism, Huber et al. (2006) find that curriculum underrepresents minorities and that this may contribute to engrained senses of racial inferiority (p. 193).^[42]

Citing the issues above, Hudley and Mallinson (2012) and Fryer (2006) discuss the development of a stigmatizing label of "acting white" used by some Black and Hispanic students.^[44][46] According to these authors, the phenomenon of "acting white" comes from seeing academic success as coming hand in hand with whiteness, or for some non-white students, the abandonment of their original cultures in order to succeed in a White-culture-normative society.^[44] In this case, academic success is coupled with accepting the Eurocentric practices used by schools, which means self-disenfranchisement.^[44] This social stigma of "acting white" may discourage strivings for academic success among Black and Hispanic students.^[46][44] Fryer (2012) explains that Hispanic students' popularity starts to decline relative to their grade point average after they attain a 2.5; for Black students, this number is a 3.5; for White students, this relationship does not appear to occur.^[46]

At the societal level, white supremacy in curriculum may contribute to the perpetuation of white supremacy, affecting future generations.^[47][42] Huber et al. (2006) notes that Euro- or white-centric curriculum can contribute to the normalization of racial inequality and tolerance of White dominance (p. 193).^[42] Brown and Brown (2010) also state that if schools continue to not teach about systemic racism, students will grow up to be "apathetic" about Black victims of mass incarceration and gun-related violence, as well as the disproportionate suffering experienced by Black Americans after natural disasters (p. 122).^[48]

Socioeconomic status

Ivy-Plus admissions rates vary with the income of the students' parents, with the acceptance rate of the top 0.1% income percentile being almost twice as much as other students.^[49]

In the United States, a family's socioeconomic status (SES) has a significant impact on the child's education. The parents' level of education, income, and jobs combine to determine the level of difficulty their children will face in school. It creates an inequality of learning between children from families of a high SES and children from families of a low SES. Families with a high SES have the ability to ensure their child receives a beneficial education while families with a low SES usually are not able to ensure the same quality education for their child. This results in children of less wealthy families performing less well in schools as children of wealthier families. There are several factors that contribute to this disparity; these factors narrow into two main subjects: resources and environment.

The type of environment a student lives in is a determinant of the education they receive. The environment a child is raised in shapes their perceptions of education. In low SES homes, literacy is not stressed as much as it is in high SES homes. It is proven that wealthier parents spend more time talking to their children and this builds up their vocabulary early on and enhances their literacy skills.^[50] In a study from the NCES, outside school, parental involvement grows exponentially as the household income grows. It shows that parents making $100k a year or more were 75% likely to tell a story to their child where as a family making $20k is only 60% likely to tell their child a story.^[51] These types of activities are what leads to brain development and kids with lower SES are statistically receiving less. Children of low SES are also exposed to a more stressful environment than higher SES children. They worry about influences a lack of money in the household could create (such as bills and food). This stress manifests itself all throughout a students learning career. We see statistically that students coming from higher poverty areas graduate college at nearly half the rate of students from a lower poverty school.^[52]

There is great variation in the resources available to children in schools. Families of higher SES are able to invest more into the education of their children. This ability manifests in the popular tactic of shopping around school districts: parents plan where they are going to live based on the quality of the school district. They can afford to live in areas where other families of high SES reside, and this congregation of high-SES families produces a school district that is well funded. These families are capable of directly investing in their children's education by donating to the school. Having access to such funds gives the schools capacity to hold high caliber resources such as high-quality teachers, technology, good nutrition, clubs, sports, and books. If students have access to such resources, they are able to learn more effectively. Children of lower SES families do not have such resources. A timely example shown in the NCES study is that of home internet access by median income and race. We see, by a large margin, Black and Hispanic students having the least access to the internet along with those of the lowest median income quarter.^[53] These low SES families settle down where there is an availability of jobs, and are less able to shop around school districts. Clusters of low-SES families typically are within worse school districts. The families are not in a position to donate to their children's school and the schools lack appropriate funding for good resources. This results in schools that cannot compete with wealthier schools.^[54][55] However, recent political developments favor legal changes to these funding laws. For example, a court in Pennsylvania held the state's funding processes as failing to uphold the state's constitutional obligation in providing education.^[56]

Private vs. public education

There are several differences in how private schools operate when compared to public schools. Public schools are funded by federal, state and local sources with nearly half of their funding coming from local property taxes.^[60] Private schools are funded from resources outside of the government, which typically comes from a combination of student tuition, donations, fundraising, and endowments. Private school enrollment makes up about 10 percent of all K-12 enrollment in the U.S (about 4 million students),^[61] while public school enrollment encompasses 56.4 million students.^[62]

Because private schools are funded outside of government channels, they often exercise more freedom in how they operate their schools. Many private schools choose to teach material outside of the state-mandated curriculum. They are also allowed to have religious affiliations and selection criteria for which students they accept. In contrast, public schools are not allowed to have religious ties and must accept any student that is geographically zoned in their area. There have been several arguments that have been raised against private school systems. Some argue that it perpetuates elitist forms of education, and has high barriers to entry, as tuition to private schools can be up to tens of thousands of dollars. For reference, the national average cost of private school tuition in the 2020–2021 school year is $11,004.^[63] Since several private schools have religious affiliations, there have also been arguments regarding potential bias and questionable standards in religious private schools.^[64]

Differences in private vs public education can have effects on the future achievement of children. Several studies point out the fact that students who attend private schools are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college afterward.^[65] There have been studies that point to the fact that areas where a homogenous public education system is present have higher amounts of inter-generational social mobility. In comparison, private education systems can lead to higher inequality and less mobility.^[66] The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth has also pointed to the fact that students who attend private schools tend to earn more in their careers than compared to their public school counterparts.

Language barriers

As of 2015, there are nearly 5 million English language learner (ELL) students enrolled in U.S. public schools and they are the fastest-growing student population in the U.S.^[67] About 73% of ELL students speak Spanish as their first language, although the most common language will vary by state. 60% of English language learner students come from low-income families, where parents have very limited educational levels. Family income level and lack of English language skills are often two challenges that are intertwined in the barriers that ELL students face.

Students who are not proficient in English are put at a serious disadvantage when compared to their peers. There is a strong association between English-language ability and the success of students in school. ELL students have disproportionately high dropout rates, low graduation rates, and low college completion rates.^[68]

A potential cause of ELL students' lack of achievement is communication difficulties that can arise between student and teacher. Many educators may treat students with low English proficiency as slow learners or intellectually disadvantaged.^[69] There is evidence that a potential consequence of this lack of understanding on the educator's side is the creation of a self-fulfilling prophecy: teachers treat students as less capable and students internalize these expectations and underperform.^[70] These students may also feel a cultural conflict between their native language and English. Cultural differences may cause students to feel a rejection of their native culture/language leading to a decrease in motivation in school. Most experts agree that it takes students around 5–7 years to learn academic English, which in a school setting can place students learning English behind their English-speaking classmates.^[71] Many people who speak little English may face language barriers when seeking health care. This article describes what is currently known about language barriers in health care and outlines a research agenda based on mismatches between the current state of knowledge of language barriers and what health care stakeholders need to know. In each of these areas, specific research questions and recommendations are outlined.^[72] Different people use language in different ways. We capture this by making language competence—the set of messages an agent can use and understand—private information. Our primary focus is on common-interest games. Communication generally remains possible; it may be severely impaired even with common knowledge that language competence is adequate.^[73] It shows the language barriers may be more important to international trade then previously thought. The language barrier index, a newly constructed variable that uses detailed linguistic data, is used to show that language barriers are significantly negatively correlated with bilateral trade.^[74] A language barrier impedes the formation of interpersonal relationships and can cause misunderstandings that lead to conflict, frustration, offense, violence, hurt feelings, and wasting time, effort, money, etc. It is also a figurative phrase used primarily to refer to linguistic barriers to communication, i.e., the difficulties in communication experienced by people or groups originally speaking different languages, or even dialects in some cases.

Achievement gap

The achievement gap describes the inconsistencies in standardized test scores, rates of high school and college completion, grade point average between different ethnic-racial groups in the United States.^[86] It is significant because White students tend to achieve far more academically compared to Black and Latino students.^[87] Latino and Black students have some of the lowest college school completion rates in the United States. On average, they also have lower literacy rates in school and lag behind White students in terms of math and science proficiency.^[88] It is important to understand that these discrepancies have long-term achievement effects on Latino and Black students.

There are several factors that can explain the achievement gap. Among some of the most studied and popular theories are that predominantly Black/Latino schools are concentrated in low SES neighborhoods that do not receive adequate resources to invest in their student's education (such as the ability to pay for qualified teachers) and that parental participation in Black and Latino families lags behind White families.^[89] Family influence is significant as shown in a study that demonstrated how high levels of parental involvement in low income communities can actually assist in mitigating the achievement gap.^[90]

Summer learning gap

An imbalance in resources at home creates a phenomenon called the summer learning gap. This exhibits the impact of resources outside of school that influence a child's education progression. It uncovers a troubling contrast between the growth in math skills over the summer between children of high SES and children of low SES.^[54]

The graph displaying the summer learning gap shows the higher SES children starting above the lower SES children at year one. The higher SES children are already ahead of the lower SES children before grade school even starts because of the amount of resources available to them at home. This may be due to their early introduction into literacy and higher vocabulary due to the higher amount of words they are exposed to as mention in a previous paragraph. Also, the lower SES children's access to books is solely through school, and their reading skills are not developed at all at year one because they have not had the exposure yet.

As the graph goes on, it is evident that the two groups of children learn at the same rate only when they are in school. The higher SES students are still above the lower SES students because the rate of learning of the children changes radically during the summer. In the summer, the higher SES children show a very slight increase in learning. This is due to their access to various resources during the summer months. Their families are able to enroll them in summer enrichment activities such as summer camp. These activities ensures that they are still being educationally stimulated even when not in school. While at the same time, lower SES students show evidence of a slight decrease in learning during the summer months. Lower SES students do not have the same opportunities as the higher SES students. During the summer, these students are not focused on learning during the summer. Their parents do not enroll them in as many summer activities because they cannot afford them and so the children have more autonomy and freedom in those three months. They are concerned with having fun, and thus forget some of what they gained during the school year. This continuing disparity from year to year results in an approximately 100 point difference in their math scores at year six.^[91]

Discipline gap

The discipline gap refers to the overrepresentation of minority students among the differing rates of school discipline, especially in comparison to white students. Shifts in disciplinary policy have been attributed to the discipline gap, with African American students bearing the brunt of the subsequent inequalities. In recent decades, disciplinary policies meant to strengthen school control over social interactions, such as through the use of zero-tolerance, have been implemented, leading to a large increase of sanctions being levied against students.^[95] Studies have also suggested that, for Black students, the likelihood of suspension increases in concordance with a rise in the population of Black students in a school's student body, as well as an increased likelihood of facing harsher punishments for behavior.^[95] Additional research has suggested that African American students are both differentially disciplined and more likely to face harsher punishments relative to white students.^[96] Furthermore, minority students are more often accused of subjective, rather than objective, disciplinary infractions.^[97] Other minority demographics, such as Latinx and Native American students, face similar disproportionately high rates of school discipline—though relative to data about Black students, these findings have been less consistent.^[96]

Explanations for the cause of the discipline gap are wide-ranging, as both broad factors and individual actions have been considered as potential sources of the gap. On a macrolevel, things like school culture have been suggested to be meaningfully associated with differences in suspension rates.^[98] Conversely, a significant amount of research has been conducted on the micro-interactions that take place between teachers and students. The self-efficacy and confidence of teachers inherently influence their interactions with students, which can then shape their methods of classroom management and propensity to discipline students.^[97] Moreover, preexisting assumptions or biases about students can also influence a teacher's treatment of their students.^[99] Additional issues, such as cultural differences, have been identified as further complicating the relationship between teachers and students. Most notably, cultural misunderstandings between white teachers and Black students have been found to result in disciplinary action taken disproportionately against Black students.^[95] Research has also indicated that the risk of cultural mishaps may be more pronounced among inexperienced or new teachers.^[100]

Prison pipeline

A juvenile prison in Cook County, Illinois

The prison pipeline, also known as the School-to-Prison Pipeline (SPP), refers to the system of student disciplinary referrals to the American juvenile justice system, rather than using disciplinary mechanisms within schools themselves.^[100] As a result of this system, negative consequences during adulthood, such as incarceration, that disproportionately impact minority students have been attributed to the pipeline, which is closely related to the issue of race in the United States criminal justice system.^[97] Many studies have revealed that during childhood, exposures to the justice system make students more likely to become imprisoned later in life.^[100] School disciplinary policies that overly effect Black and minority students, such as zero-tolerance and exclusionary policies, increase the risk for students to come into contact with the juvenile justice system.^[100] These policies disproportionately target students of color, as evidence has revealed a rise among African American males in the prison system who were expelled from schools with recently implemented zero-tolerance policies.^[104] Furthermore, suspensions have been identified as making the risk of youth incarceration three times more likely for students.^[102] Other factors that have fostered the development of the prison pipeline include law enforcement on school campuses, such as school resource officers, that play a role in school discipline. Law enforcement officers intervene or perform arrests to address student issues—like drug use or assault of teachers or other students—that break the law.^[103] However, implicit biases against minority students have been linked to the disciplinary recommendations made by school officers, which tend to result in more severe punishments to be levied against these students.^[101]

Though many different factors have gradually led to the creation of the prison pipeline, one of the clearest indicators of its development comes from state budgets, as states have generally been increasing investments in justice system infrastructure while simultaneously divesting from education.^[105] School-specific factors have also contributed to the development of the prison pipeline, including the discipline gap and the criminalization of schools.^[97] A significant number of studies have indicated that exclusionary discipline can create cycles of bad behaviors that result in progressively more severe consequences—often ending in involvement with the justice system.^[103] This has been evidenced by disproportionate arrest rates in schools. For example, even though they constitute only 15% of students, Black students comprise 50% of arrests in schools.^[102] Subsequent punishments, especially institutional confinement, can have inadvertent consequences, such as dropping out of school.^[106] Moreover, the bureaucracy of correctional institutions does not correspond well with school systems, as curriculums do not always match.^[106] Consequently, students who reenroll in school tend to not only lack support systems for reentry, but they must also overcome the deficit between curriculums.^[106] Research has also indicated that, especially in inner cities, the various elements of the prison pipeline are ultimately counterproductive to improving or 'fixing' a student's education and disciplinary track record.^[106]

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) which aimed to improve the education of "disadvantaged" students through monetary aid, known as "Title 1 money".^[107] Signed in 2001 by President Bush, NCLB aimed to create a more inclusive, responsive, and fair education system by ensuring accountability, flexibility, and increased federal support for schools.^[108] NCLB emphasized the educational needs of minorities, the poor, ELL and "special education" students.^[107][109] Some of the criticisms NCLB has received include that its curriculum overemphasizes math and reading, restricts teaching and devalues creativity, and fixates on improving test scores instead of the educational system.^[110]

NCLB uses test scores from mathematics and reading to determine whether the achievement gap has shrunk.^[110] The reliance on standardized tests may not illustrate the child's holistic progress and achievement.^[111] Furthermore, these tests are used to determine whether a school meets "adequate yearly progress" (AYP).^[107] Penalties are administered to schools who fail to meet AYP, an approach known as "test and punish".^[110] Such penalties may include the loss of Title 1 funding, the school's closure, the "restructuring of the entire system", the school's conversion into a charter school, the provision of free tutoring, and/or permitting students "to transfer to a better-performing public school in the same district".^[107][109] While some of NCLB's sanctions have been shown not to work, the forced "restructuring [of] leadership" has proven beneficial to a school's improvement.^[112]

Another NCLB provision was the hiring of "highly qualified" individuals.^[109] This required teachers to have a Bachelor's degree and a state-specific teaching credential.^[109] Some argue that such requirements overemphasize a mastery of "subject matter" while underemphasizing interpersonal skills, such as introspection.^[109] Despite NCLB's goal of reaching disadvantaged students, "highly qualified" teachers often end up at wealthier schools due to better pay.^[109]

Every Student Succeeds Act

On December 10, 2015, the NCLB Act came to and end and was replaced the by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), eliminating some of the controversial provisions of NCLB. Under the new law, the federal government continues to provide a broad framework for schools. However, the responsibility of holding schools accountable shifts back to the states. Each state must set flexible goals for its schools and evaluate them accordingly.

Under the new law, states must still test students once a year in certain areas such as math and reading. However, state aren't limited to using their own tests, while concomitantly encouraging them to get rid of unnecessary testing.

In 2019, Collaborative for Student Success, an educational advocacy organization that focuses on defending efforts on advancing policies that support the development of strong systems and practices to ensure that all kids are prepared to achieve their potential and professional goals^[113] held an ESSA Anniversary Summit on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. At the summit, Becky Pringle, Vice President of the National Education Association (NEA), pointed out that despite "the many successes and new opportunities [ESSA brought]...some states [hadn't] had the capacity to take advantage of the innovations built into the law."^[114]

Early intervention

Research studies have shown that early intervention may have drastic effects on future growth and development in children, as well as improve their well-being and reduce the demand for social services over their life.^[115][116] Early intervention can include a wide array of educational activities, including an increased emphasis on reading and writing, providing additional tools or resources for learning, as well as supplements to aid special education students.^[117]

Parental involvement and engagement

Parental involvement is when schools give advice to parents on what they can do to help their children while parental engagement is when schools listen to parents on how better they can teach their students; parental involvement has been shown to work well but engagement works even better.^[124] Researchers have found that high-achieving African American students are more likely to have parents who tutor them at home, provide additional practice problems, and keep in touch with school personnel.^[125]

There is evidence that African American parents do value education for their child, but may not be as involved in schools because they face hostility from teachers when they give their input.^[126] Lack of involvement can also be due to social class and socioeconomic status: working-class African American parents tend to have less access to "human, financial, social, and cultural resources."^[127] Working-class African American parents also tend to be more confrontational toward school personnel compared to the middle-class African American parents who usually have the ability to choose what school and what class their child is enrolled in.^[128]

Surveys conducted on parental involvement in low-income families showed that more than 97% of the parents said they wanted to help their children at home and wanted to work with the teachers. However, they were more likely to agree with the statements "I have little to do with my children's success in school," "Working parents do not have time to be involved in school activities," and "I do not have enough training to help make school decisions."^[129] A case study of Clark Elementary in the Pacific Northwest showed that teachers involved parents more after understanding the challenges that the parents faced, such as being a non-native English speaker or being unemployed.^[130]

School funding

School funding and/or quality has been shown to account for as much of a 40% variance in student achievement. While school funding can be seen as a factor that perpetuates educational inequality, it also has the ability to assist in mitigating it.

The funding gap is a term often used to explain the differences in resource allocation between high-income and low-income schools.^[131] Many studies have found that states are spending less money on students from low-income communities than they are on students from high-income communities (Growing Gaps figure). A 2015 study found that across the United States, school districts with high levels of poverty are likely to receive 10 percent less per student (in resources provided from the state and local government) compared to more affluent school districts. For students of color this funding gap is more pervasive; school districts where students of color are in the majority have been shown to receive 15 percent less per student compared to school districts that are mostly white.^[132][133]

The funding gap has many implications for those students whose school districts are receiving less aid from the state and local government (in comparison to less impoverished districts). For students in the former districts, this funding gap has led to poorer teacher quality which has been shown to lead to low levels of educational attainment among poor and minority students.^[134] The Learning Policy Institute in 2018 has concluded from a longitudinal study that "a 21.7% increase in per-pupil spending throughout all 12 school-age years was enough to eliminate the education attainment gap between children from low-income and non-poor families and to raise graduation rates for low-income children by 20 percentage points."^[135]

Charter schools

A charter school is an independent learning institution most commonly serving secondary students. It receives public funding through a charter granted to a state or local agency.^[136]

Charter schools have been depicted as a controversial solution to alleviate educational inequality in the United States. In an effort to combat the impacts of living in a low-income school district, charter schools have emerged as a means of reorganizing funding to better assist low-income students and their communities. This method is designed to decrease the negative effects on students' educational quality as a result of living in a low-tax-base community.

Critics of charter schools argue they de-emphasize the significance of public education and are subject to greedy enterprise exploiting the fundamental right of education for the sole purpose of profiting. While charter schools are technically considered "public schools," opponents argue that their operational differences implicitly create differences in quality and type of public education, as standards and operating procedures are individualized based on each school. Another criticism of charter schools is the possible negative effects they may have on students who are racial minorities or come from low-income backgrounds.^[137] Studies have also found charter schools to be much more segregated than their public school counterparts.^[138] Free-market proponents often support charter schools, arguing they are more effective than typical public schools, specifically in reference to low-income students. Other supporters of charter schools argue that they revive participation in public education, expand existing boundaries regarding teaching methods, and encourage a more community-based approach towards education.^[139] However, studies have not found conclusive evidence that charter schools as a whole are more effective than traditional public schools.^[140]

One common model of charter schools is called a "no excuses" school. This label has been adopted by many charter schools as a means of indicating their dedication to a rigorous and immersive educational experience. While there is no official list of features required to be a "no-excuse" charter, they have many common characteristics. Some of these attributes include high behavioral expectations, strict disciplinary codes, college preparatory curriculum, and initiatives to hire and retain quality teachers.^[141]

School discipline reform

Educational and disciplinary inequalities are complex and multi-faceted, but there have been many proposals to reduce disparities. Some researchers suggest that improving relationships between students and teachers, as well as the overall school culture, can better support minority students and provide a foundation for other reforms.^[142] Research has shown that when teachers are engaging and involved in a student's success, African American students are more likely to accept them.^[143] Engaging teaching styles can better connect with Black students, who often face more barriers to success, and improve classroom management, reducing behavioral conflicts and the need for disciplinary intervention.^[143] Suggestions for improving teaching styles include accounting for challenges students may face outside of school, contextualizing student actions, implicit bias training, and acknowledging cultural differences between teachers and students.^[97][101] Even though research about how to reduce the discipline gap is still ongoing, acknowledging the risk of bias when disciplining students has been noted as a potential method of limiting the growth of the gap.^[96]

Other approaches related to reducing the discipline gap focus on disciplinary practices themselves. It has been suggested that school discipline should center around empathetic accountability systems rather than punitive consequences.^[102] Research has shown that negative perceptions of a school's disciplinary climate can lead to apathy towards rules and school in general.^[144] One method of implementing this shift is through Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), which focuses on building relationships and proactively discussing rules and codes of conduct with students.^[101] However, critics note that it can be expensive to implement.^[101] Advocates for school discipline reform have also expressed interest in applying restorative justice practices to school disciplinary procedures.^[102] Restorative justice in schools uses conflict mediation to address disciplinary infractions and build stronger relationships between parties involved; however, the efficacy of restorative programs is still being determined.^[144] Additional approaches focus on mitigating the negative consequences of zero-tolerance policies by expanding disciplinary options and moving away from exclusionary policies such as suspensions or expulsions.^[143][96] Community involvement has also been suggested to address discrepancies in disciplinary policies by bringing families and school officials together to improve advocacy for minority students.^[142] This approach has had some success, such as in California communities where community advocacy involving youth, school officials, and family members successfully addressed disciplinary issues related to suspensions.^[145]

Given that the discipline gap disproportionately moves Black and minority students into the prison pipeline, school discipline reform has also focused on reducing the factors that contribute to the pipeline. Advocates note that shifting away from bias and policies that contribute to the pipeline, such as punitive discipline, also entails broader considerations of how the pipeline manifests and costs society.^[102] Suspensions and other precursors to the pipeline not only potentially lead to future incarceration, but also to societal expenses that range from costs associated with crime to forfeited sources of tax revenue.^[144] Other reforms related to breaking the pipeline include addressing transitional issues between correctional facilities and schools, as transitions often fail to effectively transfer students without a loss of school time.^[106] Ensuring better transitions has been identified as a potential area that can be addressed by legislation and policymakers.^[106] Additionally, reform efforts also include raising awareness of how juvenile justice system referrals or other disciplinary punishments can lead to severe consequences later in life for students, especially since school staff and resource officers have a degree of discretion when issuing punishments.^[106]