| Abstract | Education has a revered place in society: it is one institution seen as vital for all members of a society, as well as for the reproduction of the society as a whole. However, such an institution is susceptible to the ills of developed society. This notion is exemplified by the large disparities that have emerged within both the educational performance and overall attainment of certain groups of students. These groups tend to be broken down by various social identifiers, such as one's gender, social class, and especially race. Specifically, black students in the United States education system are victim to the worst disparity in both educational performance and attainment. This disparity has been well studied and researched, and is infamously known as the black-white achievement gap. The black-white achievement gap exists at all levels of the education spectrum, starting as young as pre-kindergarten and extending into and throughout adult life. The gap is rooted in many complex causes, such as economics and familial background. As each new root cause is identified, we come that much closer to building the bridge over this chasm. To this point, multiple attempts have been made to close the gap, many without success. However, certain individual schools have adopted revolutionary tactics in an attempt to bridge the achievement gap, and some are finally finding success that has eluded previous attempts to solve this deep-seated societal issue. |
