American Schools Should Be More Equitable for Students of...

American schools are in crises. There are a variety of problems that exist in American schools right now, which associate with economic and social classes, race and ethnicity, and gender issues. Although the gender differences in classrooms do have some affects on the quality of American education, they are not the main reasons why American schools are in danger. The most serious problems in American educational system are the barriers that students from both lower classes and minority races are facing. In K-12 schools, standardized testing seems to be the one issue that creates problems. In terms of enrolling into college, the financing is the most common reason that blocks lower classes and minority race students from colleges. In†¦show more content†¦Because of the pressure on the teachers, they would focus more on teaching students how to take the tests rather than what they are supposed to teach in terms of academic achievements (Sacks 44). Standardized testing seems to turn these schools into the ones only for testing. Another issue with standardized testing is that it does not fit every race of students equally well. In Michele Phillips’s article, â€Å"Standardized Tests Aren’t Like T-Shirts: One Size Doesn’t Fit All,† Phillips claims that standardized tests are unfair to the students who don’t have English as their primary language. Moreover, standardized tests seem biased because they’re under the standard of the norms of White middle-class America (Phillips). Due to these linguistic and cultural differences, standardized testing is merely a challenge rather than an encouragement to students who are not in the White upper and middle- class groups. Both Sacks and Phillips claim that in order to help these students to succeed academically, reducing standardized testing is needed. Decreasing standardized testing will reduce the negative effects that it brings which will then improve the equality of the A merican schools and help the students from lower classes and minority races to be more comfortable with studying. For students who are in poverty, mostly from lower classes and minority races,Show MoreRelatedEducation As A Social Institution Essay1965 Words   |  8 Pagesand language. In addition to this, we examined the cultural and social structures of the education system. My further understanding of the factors that affect the outcomes of U.S. public schools and academic achievement has expanded immensely. After gathering research from the authors throughout the quarter, students were able to assess their knowledge through the video assignment. 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