VOA慢速英语2015 Blacks, Latinos Score Lower on Tests than Whites, Asians

Blacks, Latinos Score Lower on Tests than Whites, Asians

White and Asian students continue to do better on tests than black and Latino students, says the U.S. Department of Education.

This information, which comes from the government’s 2015 Nation's Report Card, shows a long-lasting education gap between racial groups in the United States.

Here are two examples from the 2015 Nation's Report Card:

In 2015, white students scored 32 points higher than black students on mathematics tests, on average.

In 2015, white students scored 26 points higher than black students on reading tests, on average.

Both examples show the scores of Grade 8 students. Grade 8 is the year before students begin high school in the US.

Why do White and Asian students do better on tests?

Marcelo Suarez-Orozco is an education professor at the University of California-Los Angeles. She says that Latino and black students face challenges that prevent them from excelling².  

”Both Latino children and African American children are once again attending schools that are highly segregated⁴.  They are highly segregated by race, by poverty, by language by legal status," said Suarez-Orozco.

One reason is classroom attendance⁵ in primary and secondary school.  As students miss more classes, they become less likely to score well on tests and graduate from high school.

In general, students from low-income families in the U.S. are more likely to miss class because of health problems, such as asthma⁶ and tooth decay⁷. Transportation problems and difficult home environments are other factors.

Black and Hispanic students in many regions are more likely to miss classes than white students, says a report from Attendance Works, a non-profit organization.

The Achievement Gap

Poverty, language, legal status and race are all factors that contribute to an achievement gap that continues into college, says Ken⁸ O’Donnell, California State University’s Senior Director of Student Engagement⁹.

If a student is the first person in their family to go to college, they face many difficulties. They do not have the same support that other students might have, says O'Donnell.

The achievement gap, explains O'Donnell, can have serious effects.

Students who are not prepared for college are more likely to leave school. Or they might take longer to graduate. This means that they will receive the benefits of a college degree late – or perhaps never.

International perspectives on the achievement gap

The achievement gap is not only a problem in the U.S. In many countries, some groups do not perform as well as others. Finland is considered by many to have the best education system in the world. But it, too, has problems with the achievement gap.

The Economic Policy Institute released a report in 2013. It found that in Finland, low-income students score higher than low-income students in the U.S. on the PISA test.

However, from 2000 to 2009, low-income Finnish students' scores went down. During the same period, low-income US students' scores went up. In other words, Finland is starting to have problems educating low-income students.      

How to Fix the Problem?

For now, some schools are better than others at preparing students for college. At Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, teachers talk about college as soon as students start high school. 

Teachers try to build the confidence of students. And they try to help students on an individual basis, says Principal Jan Murata.

“Unless you reach that child and show that you care and get the students there and believe in them, then it makes it really difficult," said Murata.

Another way to help students is to help their parents. Mark Gaither, a principal at a primary school in Baltimore, allows parents to come to the school's library every Monday. There, parents can learn how to help students with homework, check out books and get comfortable in the school environment.

For many of today’s teachers, UCLA’s Suarez-Orozco says reaching students means understanding the cultural, language and economic difficulties they face.

“So knowing your students, knowing where they are coming from, knowing their communities, [are important]" he said.

In October, the Obama Administration began a program to combat¹⁰ the problem of students missing school. The effort is called "Every Student, Every Day." Its goal is to identify and help students who miss around 18 days, or 10 percent, of school days in a school year.

Through the "Every Student, Every Day" program, the departments of Education, Health and Human Services and Justice, among others, will work with local and state governments to stop students from missing too much school.

Only time will tell how successful this program will be.

Words in This Story

gap – n.  a space between two people or things?

score - v. to earn or get points as on a test

challenge - n. a difficult task or problem; something that is hard to do

excel¹ – v. to be better than others — usually + at or in

segregate³ – v. to separate groups of people because of their particular race, religion, etc.

graduate - v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

low-income - adj. earning a low amount of money; poor

asthma – n. a physical condition that makes it difficult for someone to breathe

achievement – n. a skill or ability gained by practice or training

confidence - n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

comfortable - adj. allowing you to be relaxed : causing no worries, difficulty, or uncertainty

1 excel   

v.胜过，优于，杰出，善于，擅长于

参考例句：

• If your talent combines with diligence,you can excel in your pursuit.如果你把天赋与勤奋结合起来，你所追求的事业便会出类拔萃。
• He is working hard to excel his predecessors.他正努力超越他的前任。

2 excelling   

优于，擅长( excel的现在分词 )； 胜过平时

参考例句：

• The rockery in the park is of wonderful workmanship excelling nature. 公园里的假山巧夺天工。
• Dukakis has a history of enduring, even excelling at, hardball campaigns. 杜卡基斯一向能承受，甚至擅长选举硬仗。

3 segregate   

adj.分离的，被隔离的；vt.使分离，使隔离

参考例句：

• We have to segregate for a few day.我们得分离一段日子。
• Some societies still segregate men and women.有的社会仍然将男女隔离。

4 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

5 attendance   

n.出席，出席人数，护理，照料

参考例句：

• The attendance of this class never dropped off.这个班的出席人数从未下降。
• The young man danced attendance on his rich aunt.这个年轻人小心侍候他有钱的姑妈。

6 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

7 decay   

vi.腐烂，衰落；n.腐烂，腐朽，衰败状态

参考例句：

• The vegetables have begun to decay.那些蔬菜已开始腐烂。
• Our powers decay in old age.我们的体力在老年时就衰退。

8 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

9 engagement   

n.订婚，婚约，约定，约会

参考例句：

• I can't see you on Monday because I have a previous engagement.星期一我不能见你，因为我有约在先。
• It was my mother's very own engagement ring.这正是我母亲自己的订婚戒指。

10 combat   

n.战斗，斗争，格斗；vt.与...斗争，与...战斗

参考例句：

• The police are now using computers to help combat crime.警方现在使用电脑打击犯罪活动。
• A reporter interviewed the combat hero.记者访问了这位战斗英雄。