Achievement gap is not only a byproduct of racial but also economic disparity

In all likelihood, the report - Wisconsin is one of the worst affected states in respect to
educational achievement gap has spawned a love and hate relationship between
Wisconsinites, especially the habitants of Madison, and the governmental body of Wisconsin.
While in one hand, according to a study entitled Top 100 Best Places to Live, released in
September 2014, from Livability.com, Madison outranks other cities in order to be crowned as
the best place to live in US for 2015, Wisconsin, on the other hand, as reported by The Cap
Times on the basis of a study released by Annie E. Casey Foundation, has found the last spot
in the disparity between white children and their non-white peers with children of color facing
enormous barriers to educational and financial achievement.
But it is more likely an issue not only of racial but also economic disparity.
While talking to Floyd Rose, the President of CEDEDS - Consortium for the Educational
Development of Economically Disadvantaged Students - about this societal imbalance of
Madison, his initial reaction was different from what Annie E. Casey Foundation had revealed.
The educational achievement gap is more of a result of economic disparity, rather than racial
one as Annie E. Casey Foundation has emphasized, because Rose added the inflicted group
of students incorporates poor black children, poor brown children, poor white children: all poor
children.
Rose said Madison Public School System has about 27,000 students, among them 7000 is
African-American, which comes to 25%. Out of all 27,000, 54.4% are on reduced or free lunch
program, and in order to qualify for that his or her family has to be at poverty level, an annual
income of less than $24,000. He contends, Since the biggest population is 54.4%, I believe
money is the major issue more than anything else.
In order to attain educational success the children require basic amenities: food and housing,
which many of them do not have because their family does not earn quite enough. Last year,
according to Rose, there were 1200 homeless children in Madison Public School System.
Economic stability at home - get enough food to eat, have a permanent place to sleep at night bring stability in childrens mind. It doesnt let them get distracted while inside or outside the
school. Hence children are able to pay proper attention to schools curriculum.
Often times, the people think that the notion of educational achievement gap is only attributed to
the scholastic behavior of the children with color face. However, Angel L. Harris has contended in his book entitled Kids Dont Want to Fail: Oppositional Culture and the Black-White
Achievement Gap that its an imprecise and erroneous take on achievement gap.

Argun Saatcioglu commented while reviewing this book, Harris finds that, although blacks
anticipate greater barriers to opportunity, they value school the same way whites do, and their
perception of schools value is more strongly related to achievement than is their anticipation of
barriers to opportunity.
Whites are also a part of this educational disparity.
The study of Annie E. Casey Foundation has produced an alarming result that as of 2013 report
89 percent Black American children have scored below proficient reading level in 4th grade and
92 percent below proficient math achievement level in 8th grade. However, the number for white
children counts quite so high in both categories: 59 and 53 percent, respectively.

All these data need to be taken into account cautiously because they show that in spite of being
an educational state, thanks to the celebrated success of the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
the educational achievement of 4th and 8th grade white students is not better than that of the rest
the country.
White 8th graders who scored below proficient math achievement level in Wisconsin are 53
percent to US 56 percent. And white 4th graders record of scoring below proficient reading level
in Wisconsin is 59 percent to US 55 percent.
Hence, this achievement gap problem has raised concerns not only about Black American
community but also White community. In a state that consumes the white population of 82.5
percent as of 2013 compared to US 62.6 percent, the underperformance of more than 50
percent of white children seems to be quite perturbing.
Racial disparity is a cultural relic of this country. It is in the DNA. Irrespective of effort to any
extent, we cant be evasive about this bitter reality. Neither can we for economic disparity.
But we, as a community, definitely can step up and try to help the students attain educational
success so that Wisconsin, and Madison, especially, becomes the best livable place in US for
people across all races and classes.