Black-White Achievement Gap

As recently as 1998, the press was reporting that African-Americans score lower than European-Americans on vocabulary, reading, and math skills tests in general, as well as on standardized tests claiming to measure scholastic aptitude and intelligence. Although the gap had narrowed somewhat after 1970, the American black child still scored lower than whites, as much as 15% lower. Despite abundant speculation and a wealth of research, no one had yet come up with a 'magic bullet' to put a stop to the disparity; in fact, research had shown that the problem was extremely difficult to overcome, despite integration (a fact for more than 40 years) and improvement in other socioeconomic factors. "It is true that the gap shrinks only a little when black and white children attend the same schools. It is also true that the gap shrinks only a little when black and white families have...
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