schools themselves are partially responsible for this problem because they tend to focus much of their efforts and many of their resources on students believed to be "brighter" and more likely to succeed.
Others, including Jay MacLeod (1995), believe that the primary cause of this problem is poverty which is more likely to impact upon members of minority groups than white Americans. Additionally, this researcher believes that students living in poor urban communities are inadequately acculturated to learning and education and less likely than students in more affluent communities to value education or recognize its association with success in later life. Poor children, said MacLeod (1995), may also be led by teachers to have limited aspirations and therefore currently lower levels of attainment.
Given this general background, it is the purpose of this study to examine the research on the causes and effects of the achievement differential or divide that educators in the United States have long recognized as negatively affecting disadvantaged individuals and groups (Beringer & Englemann, 1996; Jencks, et al, 1972; Valenzuela, 1999). The report will also incorporate commentary generated by a series of three interviews conducted by this writer. A middle school principal, a classroom teacher, and a minority group student in an urban school were interviewed to obtain information on their unique perspectives on this important topic. Finally, the report will offer some recommendations for strategies that can be used to improve the academic achievement of at-risk children.
Many different theories have been proposed as to why members of minority groups continue to do less well than white students on standardized academic tests and other measures of achievement. There are those, such as Alex Kotlowitz (1992), who argue that the children of poverty, many of whom are African-American or Hispanic, are exposed to the social ills crea...