2 thoughts on “Problem Memo on the Achievement Gap in NYC”
Hi Grace,
I enjoyed reading your memo a lot. I always knew there was a significant learning gap between low and high-income families but this is the first time I’m actually seeing the statistics. It’s even evident among students in the same school sometimes.
I’m curious as to how many outliers there are. We always get a few feel good stories every year on students that overcome the odds and get accepted to Ivy League schools.
I like the idea of additional after-school programs. Anything that keeps a student stimulated and off the streets will be progress. Curious as to what the strategy will be in convincing the parents and the kids to attend? I can see that it might be harder to convince a high-school age child to go to an after-school program than say an elementary school student.
A point that may strengthen your argument is the experiences students of low and high-income families face. The out of the classroom experience of these students vary exponentially. You examined this issue by saying that further neglect may lead to a propensity of crime and violence. Can there be specialty programs that can help remedy any of the issues that a student from a low-income family is already facing? What if a student has already lost hope, already on the verge of dropping out or joining a gang? Is there a chance to rehabilitate the child?
Even if everything was equal in terms of the classroom and other educational tools, the student from a low-income neighborhood may still be at a disadvantage considering the stuff they have to deal with at home.
Another advantage high-income families have is private tutoring. SAT prep has become a lucrative business and a lot of parents are willing to pay a lot of money to help their kids prepare in the hopes of getting a higher score. Obviously, low income families cannot afford this luxury. Would subsidizing or providing free tutoring to these students be feasible? It’ll definitely assist in getting the test score up and hopefully alleviate issues with college entrance.
Hi, Grace.
I found your problem memo quite interesting and a little bit similar to my problem memo as well. I was working on if students are ready for SAT and college, I do agree that income is major contributing factor in the increasing gap between the students who do academically well and students who are not.
Also, bilingual students is also a major contributing factor in the achievement gap as well, hopefully there will be a solution to that as well.
Overall, I am very interested of what your solutions to this issue.
Hi Grace,
I enjoyed reading your memo a lot. I always knew there was a significant learning gap between low and high-income families but this is the first time I’m actually seeing the statistics. It’s even evident among students in the same school sometimes.
I’m curious as to how many outliers there are. We always get a few feel good stories every year on students that overcome the odds and get accepted to Ivy League schools.
I like the idea of additional after-school programs. Anything that keeps a student stimulated and off the streets will be progress. Curious as to what the strategy will be in convincing the parents and the kids to attend? I can see that it might be harder to convince a high-school age child to go to an after-school program than say an elementary school student.
A point that may strengthen your argument is the experiences students of low and high-income families face. The out of the classroom experience of these students vary exponentially. You examined this issue by saying that further neglect may lead to a propensity of crime and violence. Can there be specialty programs that can help remedy any of the issues that a student from a low-income family is already facing? What if a student has already lost hope, already on the verge of dropping out or joining a gang? Is there a chance to rehabilitate the child?
Even if everything was equal in terms of the classroom and other educational tools, the student from a low-income neighborhood may still be at a disadvantage considering the stuff they have to deal with at home.
Another advantage high-income families have is private tutoring. SAT prep has become a lucrative business and a lot of parents are willing to pay a lot of money to help their kids prepare in the hopes of getting a higher score. Obviously, low income families cannot afford this luxury. Would subsidizing or providing free tutoring to these students be feasible? It’ll definitely assist in getting the test score up and hopefully alleviate issues with college entrance.
Hi, Grace.
I found your problem memo quite interesting and a little bit similar to my problem memo as well. I was working on if students are ready for SAT and college, I do agree that income is major contributing factor in the increasing gap between the students who do academically well and students who are not.
Also, bilingual students is also a major contributing factor in the achievement gap as well, hopefully there will be a solution to that as well.
Overall, I am very interested of what your solutions to this issue.