The achievement gap between white and non-white students: a conceptual  (Page 2/19)

It has been over 50 years since the ruling of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka established segregation on the basis of race as unconstitutional (Benjamin&Crouse, 2002; Carroll, Fulton, Abercrombie,&Yoon, 2004). The law of 1954 established the union of Whites, Blacks, and other minorities (i.e., Hispanics and Asian-Americans) within all public schools across the nation (Benjamin&Crouse, 2002; Carroll et al., 2004; Nieto, 2004). The premise of the law was to establish equal education and opportunity for all students, regardless of ethnicity (Benjamin&Crouse, 2002; Carroll et al., 2004). Yet, the response to the restructuring of public schools and the integration of minorities within classrooms has created “White flight” or decreased enrolled of Whites in public schools (Reber, 2005, p. 560). The movement of White students to the private school sector has increased the achievement gap within the public and private schools (Kahlenberg, 2001; Reber, 2005). Yet, since the implementation of Brown vs. Board of Education , researchers have documented that integrative efforts have been slow and, at times, nonresponsive to the resegregation efforts across the nation (Lutz, 2005; Orfield&Lee, 2007; Reber, 2005).

Brown vs. Board of Education was a catalyst in the social and civil rights changes that occurred during this time period (Benjamin&Crouse, 2002; Carroll et al., 2004). Soon after, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted to “protect people from discrimination based on race, color …in programs that receive federal funding” (Office of Civil Rights, n.d., ¶. 2). In 1964, section 402, of the Civil Rights Act stated that:

The Commissioner shall conduct a survey and make a report to the President and the Congress, within two years of the enactment of this title, concerning the lack of availability of equal educational opportunities for individuals by reason of race, color, religion, or national origin in public educational institutions at all levels in the United States, its territories and possessions, and the District of Columbia. (Office of Civil Rights, n.d., para. 4)

Coleman and colleagues were commissioned to study and to determine equality within the public schools for all students (Kahlenberg, 2001; Towers, 1992). In 1964, 4,000 schools nationwide and 600,000 students were involved in the second largest study in history (Kahlenberg, 2001). After two years, Coleman stated in his report, Equality of Educational Opportunity , that students’ family background was the overall predictor to students’ success in any educational institution. Researchers concluded that students’ academic achievement was not based on the expenditure of government funding within public educational institutions, but rather social class influenced the achievement of students within the same school. Coleman and his associates determined that students’ influence on one another was substantial. The integration of students, minority and White, could have a positive impact on the academic achievement of Black students (Kahlenberg, 2001; Towers, 1992; Wong&Nicotera, 2004). Investigators also stated that children from low-income homes would benefit from the integration with White middle class students. Coleman cautioned that the ratio of Black students to White students should be limited to 50% (Kahlenberg, 2001; St. John, 1974).