Statistics on Education Inequality
Question
Dear writer,
please use the 3 attached pdf articles for the sources and to developed a summary also use the graphs and samples of statistics in this articles since this is for a statistics on psychology assignment,
Thanks in advance,


Solution
Statistics on Education
Inequality
Most Americans can believe that education access has an
element of equality to allow poor students to access educational resources.
However, educational experts and researchers have different opinions about the
divide in education in the country between the rich and the poor. As a result,
the belief by American citizens is a myth as opposed to reality. All students
should get access to qualified teachers, appropriate facilities, and relevant
instructional material both at the school and at home. Such requirements are
crucial as they enable the students to gain the knowledge that is deemed
beneficial to them by the state. In addition, the resources allow students from
poor backgrounds to compete for jobs and opportunities (Oakes, 2002). Students
also need access to better education to participate in civic life as adults.
Whenever students are denied access to such facilities, resources, and quality
teachers, they are faced with harsh consequences, especially those from
disadvantaged families.
Most of the students in California lack the fundamental
resources, teachers, and facilities they need to excel in the education that
other majority of students enjoy. Schools bear the burden of this disparity
with the highest rate of poverty. Such schools are disproportionately attended
by those children still learning English and children of color. The environment
in which these students are housed is filthy and deteriorated. The schools
attended by the students often lack the fundamental facilities and resources
needed for success. The fewest qualified instructors also characterize the
schools; hence, the students' rate of achievement and college entry remains
extremely low. The poor quality resources and insufficient supply of facilities
impede the students as they strive to attain the standard of education set by
the state. Since they cannot access job opportunities and entry into college,
such students are faced with the danger of venturing into socially unpleasant
behaviors such as crime.
The funding gap between the rich and poor students tends to
increase despite the advances made during the Trump administration. On the
other hand, the Obama administration excluded federal funds from the total
school funding stating that the funds were meant to supplement the local funds
since it used more resources to eliminate poverty instead of creating a level
ground. A report produced during the Trump administration suggested that 25% of
the wealthiest schools in the district spent $450 on a single child, more than
the poorest 25% (Barshay, 2020). Therefore, instead of creating an improvement,
it was quite evident during the Trump administration that the educational gap
between the rich and poor students was increasing. According to Barshay, the
Trump administration's annual report in 2019 suggested a slight increase in the
gap between 2014-15 and 2015-16 to $473 per student. Therefore, the gap is not only
between the rich and the poor but also between the ultra-rich and the rest.
A researcher from Pennsylvania State University revealed in
2020 how the wealthiest school district, making up only 1%, funds their students
at a higher rate than everyone else and increases the spending rates for their
schools. Such schools are mostly located in the white suburbs. The average
spending by such schools also increased between 2000 and 2015 by 32% (Barshay,
2020). Disparities in funding are experienced despite the increased poverty
rate in other schools. The number of high-poverty schools increased in 2011 by
60% to one in every five schools from one in every eight schools in 2000
(Barshay, 2020). The number of school-age students faced with poverty also
increased between 2000 and 2012 by 40% to one in every five students (Barshay,
2020).
The actions taken by the states have either caused or failed
to prevent the remarkable inequality among students. The first failure by the
state governments is setting and enforcing the standards for equitable and
adequate resource allocation and conditions that can prevent inequalities and
disparities. Secondly, they have also failed in creating capacities for
district schools to avail such facilities and resources. The states have also
failed to collect and analyze the necessary data to understand the extent of
the problems and the need for facilities and resources. Finally, the states
have also failed to provide assistance and interventions to address disparities
and inadequacies if they are experienced. Breaking down the data on inequality
based on race reveals even striking results. For instance, between 2016 and
2017, a third of children of black origin lived in poverty compared to Whites
and Asians at 11% and 10%, respectively (Barshay, 2020).
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The coronavirus pandemic
significantly impacted higher education in the United States. Over the
duration, 90% of the institutions announced that they had shifted to online
learning (Marsicano et al., 2020). However, the
administration was still affected even when the infection rates were seen to
have gone down. One of the reasons was based on how to resume in-person
learning. Although the pandemic affected all the institutions of higher
learning in the United States, studies suggest that the 2-year public and the
4-year private
baccalaureate institutions were affected more (Marsicano et al., 2020). Higher education has entered
into a critically uncertain zone over the past few months.
The figure showed the timeline of
when institutions decided to go online due to the pandemic. The figure reveals
that the kick-off was slow, but the decision to get to the online platform
accelerated faster with time. As a result, the pandemic also caused a huge
reduction in staff in these institutions.
Figure 2: Rate of
reduction of staff by institutions
In the figure above, the first column
represents the rate of part-time staff reduction, the second administration,
the third full-time support staff, the non-tenure-track staff are in the
fourth, and last, the tenure track staff. The decrease in staff is likely to
cause further problems in the education sector due to reduced staff once
in-person learning is resumed (Best et al., 2021). A recent study revealed a
great skeptic in terms of the impacts of COVID-19 on the ability of students to
become successful in the future. However, 34% of undergraduates and 11% of
managers believe that despite the effects of the virus, students will graduate
with skills that will propel them into the job market (Marsicano et al., 2020).
To conclude, it is clear that
students require three fundamental aspects of education to prosper in their
future endeavors. The three include facilities, resources, and qualified
teachers. However, children from low-income families tend to be disadvantaged
in accessing these vital resources. Such students also get the least funding
from the state government. Nonetheless, the number of poor students is rising,
while funding for the poor compared to the rich is very low. In addition,
therefore, the coronavirus pandemic shifted from in-person learning mode to
online learning. The pandemic also led to a reduction in the number of staff
required by institutions. The situation is expected to aggravate the disparity despite
poor students’ current plight. Therefore, state governments need to ensure that
resources, facilities, and qualified teachers are available to needy students.
References
Barshay,
J. (2020). A decade of research on the rich-poor divide in education Many studies
show large and growing inequities. The
Hechinger Report.
Best, A. L., Fletcher, F. E., Kadono, M., &
Warren, R. C. (2021). Institutional distrust among African Americans and
building trustworthiness in the COVID-19 response: implications for thical public
health practice. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 32(1),
90.
Marsicano, C. R., Barnshaw, J., & Letukas,
L. (2020). Crisis and change: How COVID‐19 xacerbated institutional inequality
and how institutions are responding. New Directions for Institutional
Research, 2020(187-188), 7-30.
Oakes, J. (2002). Education inadequacy,
inequality, and failed state policy: A synthesis of expert reports prepared for
Williams v. State of California.



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