Understanding the causes of the racial achievement gap in
American education and then addressing it with effective programs
is one of the most urgent problems communities and educators
face.
For many years, the most popular explanation for the achievement
gap has been the oppositional culture theory: the idea that black
students underperform in secondary schools because of a group
culture that devalues learning and sees academic effort as acting
white. Despite lack of evidence for this belief, classroom teachers
accept it, with predictable self-fulfilling results. In a careful
quantitative assessment of the oppositional culture hypothesis,
Angel L. Harris tested its empirical implications systematically
and broadened his analysis to include data from British schools.
From every conceivable angle of examination, the oppositional
culture theory fell flat.
Despite achieving less in school, black students value schooling
more than their white counterparts do. Black kids perform badly in
high school not because they don t want to succeed but because they
enter without the necessary skills. Harris finds that the
achievement gap starts to open up in preadolescence when cumulating
socioeconomic and health disadvantages inhibit skills development
and when students start to feel the impact of lowered teacher
expectations.
"Kids Don t Want to Fail" is must reading for teachers,
academics, policy makers, and anyone interested in understanding
the intersection of race and education.
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