Washington, DC -- One of the biggest issues when discussing inequality in America is the assumption that all things are equal. Many Americans assume that everyone who is an American has equal access to the tools and resources needed to maximize ones human potential. Despite the fact that this assumption is often refuted, based on both historical analysis and anecdotal evidence, the case is never completely convincing and for one simple reason. That reason being, it is very difficult to prove that systemic factors lead to disparities and thus inequality. The question is often how does one quantify the impact of things like racism, sexism, and classism? The U.S. Department of Education is aiming to do just that in analyzing disparities in education.
Today, the Department released its report called the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). The CRDC released today is Part I of a two-part survey that will be collected twice yearly. This year’s survey, the first of its type, covers about 7,000 school districts, totaling more than 72,000 schools. “To meet President Obama’s goal to lead the world in college graduates by 2020, we need efficient, practical and accessible information like this to help guide our path," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "These data show that far too many students are still not getting access to the kinds of classes, resources and opportunities they need to be successful.”
The data released today includes information on: access to the rigorous sequence of college and career-ready math and science courses, the number of first and second-year teachers in schools, the number of high school counselors in schools, availability of pre-K and kindergarten programs, districts operating under desegregation orders or plans, and whether districts have written policies prohibiting harassment and bullying on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or disability.
Here is what the report released today showed:
- 3,000 schools serving nearly 500,000 high school students offer no algebra 2 classes, and more than 2 million students in about 7,300 schools had no access to calculus classes.
- Schools serving mostly African-American students are twice as likely to have teachers with one or two years of experience than are schools within the same district that serve mostly White students.
- Only 2 percent of the students with disabilities are taking at least one Advanced Placement class.
- Students with limited English proficiency make up 6 percent of the high school population (in grades 9–12), but are 15 percent of the students for whom algebra is the highest-level math course taken by the final year of their high school career.
- Only 22 percent of local education agencies (LEAs) reported that they operated pre-k programs targeting children from low-income families.
- Girls are underrepresented in physics, while boys are underrepresented in algebra II.
This study is shedding light on the reality of these trends in American public education, and is making the case for the fact that who you are and where you live impacts the quality of education you receive. All things are most certainly not equal! "Despite the best efforts of America's educators to bring greater equity to our schools, too many children -- especially low-income and minority children -- are still denied the educational opportunities they need to succeed," said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Russlynn Ali.
Part II of the CRDC is expected to be released this fall. For further information about the OCR, please visit, www.ed.gov/ocr.
For further information on the 2009-10 CRDC, visit http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/whatsnew.html.
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