- How do racial gaps form prior to kindergarten versus in between school years?

- What systemic school mechanisms may underlie the observed disadvantages faced by other racial/ethnic groups relative to White students while school is in session?

- What is the impact of the pandemic on these racial gaps?

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

- Black-White achievement gaps widen during school periods and shrink during summers, whereas Asian students generally pull ahead of White students at a faster rate during summers

- Disparities observed among older students are largely in place among kindergartners

- Conclusion: schools play less of a role in widening racial/ethnic achievement gaps than children’s prekindergarten environments

Results of Inequality Study

Megan Kuhfeld, D. (2020). When Does Inequality Grow? A Seasonal Analysis of Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Learning From Kindergarten Through Eighth Grade - Megan Kuhfeld, Dennis J. Condron, Doug B. Downey, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X20977854

When Does Inequality Grow? A Seasonal Analysis of Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Learning From Kindergarten Through Eighth Grade

Further Areas of Research for Achievement Gap and Summer Slump

We should not only do white and non-white racial categories, rather we should separate out Latinx, Black, White, Asian and other races as much as possible. Each has a very distinctive culture and since the pandemic has caused people to learn from home, cultural tendencies of different households may have had a greater affect on students. For example, the Latinx population is more likely to be ESL and studies show that living in non-english speaking households can affect educational outcomes. For another, in Outliers, Gladwell writes about how Chinese work ethic has been largely shaped by its agricultural roots in rice farming. This is something exclusive to a specific culture and has been a positive influence on learning outcomes, meaning those staying home in Chinese households may be affected differently than others who are not. While we may not be able to separate every race and culture from one another in this study, these anecdotes should paint why it is worth it to break them down as granular as possible.

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