Perspective
A Note on Phrasing
There's been discourse as of late that the term 'achievement gap' is actually harming the cause rather than helping it. The language of the term, in the eyes of some, promotes negative stereotypes and profiling of students of colour or lower class. For the sake of being accessible and for lack of a proposed alternative, I have chosen to continue referring to this issue as 'the achievement gap.' However, I do think that this is an important perspective and we must integrate it into our conversations. I have linked an article that discusses these ideas at length below.
Figure 6.
Ethical Principles
The issue of the achievement gap, like most other issues society faces, has ethical facets that oughtn't be ignored. In order to properly evaluate this problem, having a guiding principle is necessary. I will explain which I select to be my guiding ethical principle for this issue under the 'Caroline's Proposal' tab, but I will explain the possible choices here.
Autonomy
The respect for the autonomy of other people; dignity of self-rule.
Beneficence
An obligation to do good in all that we do; prevent harm.
Non-maleficence
An obligation not to harm others; do no harm before anything else.
Justice
An obligation to give unto others what they are deserving of or are owed.
Opposing Arguments
This isn't a real problem/this problem doesn't exist.
To deny this issue is to deny hundreds of years of racism, disadvantage, and systemic discrimination. The purpose of this topic is to shed light on education trends, not to combat those who don't believe racism exists; for this reason, I will be moving on.
It isn't the government's job to fix the achievement gap.
Actually, it is. The government is in charge of distributing resources and schools are no exception to this. Public school funding is something the government (federal an state) is directly responsible for, so if there is an issue or misallocation that needs to be addressed, it falls upon the government's shoulders.
Money and resources would be better spent elsewhere.
There are plenty of areas that need additional funding, that is for sure. However, this is an issue that runs so deep and has gone unaddressed for so long it would be irresponsible to do anything other than fix it. Many programs have been put in place to try to recoup the losses lower income or disadvantaged students face, but very few of them have worked. At this point, reallocating funds is the one thing that has not been tried, so it is worth a shot.