As the article discusses the various problems that define the achievement gap between white and African-American students, there is a difference in educational policy reform based on student graduation rates:

- if there is a noticeable downward trend in white students graduating, educational policy reform tends to take place to reverse that trend
- if there is a downward trend of graduation for African-American students, there is no link between the trend and policy reform
- results indicate that educational policy reform and intervention does not take into account any problems African-American students may be facing 

University of California, Berkeley

There is a statistically significant difference that can be labeled the racial achievement gap between white and African-American students. Whether it is the graduation rate of high schools or standardized test scores, the educational outcomes tend to be in favor of white students. This article suggests that part of the reason for this achievement gap is that the intervention from teachers for struggling students tends to be in favor of white students while African-American students are rarely noticed. 

Politics of the Black-White Achievement Gap

Hartney, M. T., & Flavin, P. (2014). The Political Foundations of the Black–White Education Achievement Gap. American Politics Research, 42(1), 3–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X13482967


The Political Foundations of the Black-White Education Achievement Gap

When looking at this achievement gap between African-American and white students, some examples of discrimination between the two groups can be seen that affects this racial achievement gap:

- opinions about educational reform tend to focus on white students
- white citizens are less likely to notice the racial achievement gap and prioritize it as a concern compared to African-American citizens

Examples of Black-White Achievement Gap

The Big Problem of the Black-White Achievement Gap

The article's surveys took notice of the opinions of citizens regarding education and results indicated:

- white citizens tend to evaluate the importance of education and quality of schools based on the achievement rate of white students but do not notice the performances of African-American students
- white citizens are less likely to consider the problem of the racial achievement gap or think that any intervention is necessary to lessen the gap at all

Citizen Opinion of the Racial Achievement Gap

As noted throughout the article and toward the end of the discussion, the responsibility of addressing this racial achievement gap between white and black students has often been placed on state governments to enact policy reforms to address this issue within the schools. However, whether or not the national government might play a bigger role that the state governments have failed to (especially through past attempts like No Child Left Behind) is an open talking point that the article's conclusion takes note of.

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