The Gap in Graduates Over the years a high school diploma has become significantly more valuable. Advances in technology have created a demand for a more skilled labor force. Without a high school diploma it would be impossible to attain the higher education necessary to be eligible for desirable careers. In turn the consequences of not receiving a high school diploma are extremely brutal. On average, dropouts are more likely to be unemployed than high school graduates and to earn less money when they eventually secure work. (Kaufman p. 1) There is a drastic gap in the graduation rates between African-Americans and whites. While some might say the reason the reason for the difference is attributed to African-Americans being inferior.
This idea is completely false. The reasons for the gap in graduation rates in the two races are poverty and the quality of the school systems where they live. The national graduation rate for the class of 1998 was 71%. For white students the rate was 78% while it was 56% for African-American students. (Greene, p 5) In the Cleveland City School District the graduation rate of African-Americans is 29%. This is way below the national averages. Cleveland also claimed the highest poverty rate among the nations 68 largest cities.
The Essay on High School Graduation Day
Many people have experienced the over whelming excitement that you feel as you approach high school graduation day, and for me, that’s a day that I will never forget. The amount of emotions that you feel on graduation day is unbelievable, and I have yet to experience anything else like it. I can remember feeling anxious to celebrate the big day with my friends and family, while at the same time I ...
More than 31 percent of the citys residents last year fell below the federal poverty level, $18,660 for a family of four, census officials said. Additionally, nearly half of all Clevelands children lived in poverty. The economic state of the environment in which the kids live and grow up in presents additional obstacles that others do not have to face. It is very likely that school going kids living in these areas will have to get jobs to help the family income. This would take away from the time that they have to devote to there studies making them fall behind and in other cases quit school all together. The crime in the impoverished neighborhoods and schools where they live and learn would make some scared to attend, and land others behind bars hindering them from completing their education.
Another cause for the difference in graduation rates is the quality of the school systems where African-Americans live. In 1999, based on standardized testing public schools were ranked in 10 different groups called deciles, with Decile 1 being the lowest The Decile 1 & 2 schools tended to be larger than average. In terms of staffing, they had a much higher proportion of teachers not fully credentialed and were also more likely to have a high percentage of first and second year teachers. Many but not all of them have high percentages of minority students. Most have very small populations of white students. (Californias Lowest, p. 1) With these poor school systems it is inevitable that the students attending them will be underachievers.
The poor school systems are contributing factors to their attendees not graduating. While some may argue that, Afro-Americans, or whatever you want to call them, are inferior as a race to Whites. (Pierce, p. 1), and attribute this as the cause of the gap in graduation rates between African-Americans and whites, this is a false and improvable claim. The real reason for this occurrence is the poverty and poor quality of school systems in places where African-Americans live. Over the years the difference in percentages is decreasing.
American Education System Versus Asian Education System
Today the American education system is no longer the best in the world. With declining test scores and poor academic achievement, people have questioned whether our current educational system is working for us? On the other side of the Pacific, the situation is totally different. Students of Asian countries achieve higher academic achievements, and they rank at the top on math and science tests. ...
Hopefully the rate African-American graduation rate will be on a steady incline, making them eligible for better jobs, and in turn enable them to better their position in society. Works Cited 1. A Question of Sanity. Pierce, Dr. William. February 1998.
. 2. Californias Lowest Performing Schools. February 2003. . 3. National Center for Education Statistics: Dropout Rates in the United States 1999.
Kaufman, Phillip. 2001. . 4. High School Graduation Rates in the United States. Green, Dr. Jay P.
November 2001. . 5. Mayor Calls for Poverty Summit. Smith, Robert L. August 2004.
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