Closing the Minority Academic Achievement Gap

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how a great gap exists today between the academic achievements of white and Asian-Americans and the rest of the non-Asian minorities, which has been increasing steadily since the 1980s. The paper suggests the gap is a social construct created from the prejudice of the white majority and the unconscious and often paradoxical ways in which minorities inadvertently live up to their expected negative role. Other explanations for the achievement gap are discussed, but in the end, systemic prejudice mixed with the results of the "stereotype threat" are seen to explain the burgeoning divide between minorities and the majority.

From the Paper:

"According to Steele's extensive research, constant exposure to negative stereotypes results in one of two different responses. The individual may go through a process called "disidentification" in which "To reduce this stress he may learn to care less about the situations and activities that bring it about -- to realign his self-regard so that it no longer depends on how he does in the situation... Pain is lessened by ceasing to identify with the part of life in which the pain occurs." (Steele, 1999, I) A more commonplace term for this process is tuning out -- for the student effectively tunes out not just negative stereotypical input, but also those parts of their life about which negative stereotypes may occur, such as the academic world. The other response is to gear up: to try doubly hard to overcome and disprove the stereotype. Most theorists would blame tuning out for the gap in achievement -- however, Steele suggests that gearing up may be equally to blame."

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