Falling short on our egalitarian system

Falling short on our egalitarian system

In the national mythology, few ideas are more revered than education's power to overcome entrenched inequality, writes Eduardo Porter in The New York Times. While often falling short of the ideal, the United States at one time aimed to provide universal, comprehensive education, an egalitarian system to put elite European systems to shame -- but no longer. Not only do American standards trail those of other industrial countries, but we have a persistent gulf in results between rich and poor. Only one in 20 children from the most disadvantaged quarter of the population manages to excel at school. Americans may protest this reflects the United States' more heterogeneous population and greater income inequality, but the truth, noted by the O.E.C.D., is that "socioeconomic disadvantage translates more directly into poor educational performance in the United States than in many other countries." The way schools are funded -- mainly through local real estate taxes -- creates a built-in advantage for schools in rich communities, where they hire the best teachers, build the best labs, and buy the best computers, and where the wealthy surround their children with the children of other wealthy people. Closing disparities in education requires addressing school funding, teacher quality, and teacher salaries, and truly implementing common standards. As long as the performance gap remains so wide, education cannot level the playing field of opportunity. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

Published by LEAP

Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.

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