An Analysis of Federal and State Educational Reforms: Have They Failed to Stem the Tide of Underachievement for African Americans

An Analysis of Federal and State Educational Reforms: Have They Failed to Stem the Tide of Underachievement for African Americans

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to expand the boundaries of our knowledge by exploring some relevant information relating to the analysis of Federal and State Educational Reforms. Access to education is a basic human right. Education is an art that is acquired through experience, patience and humility (Williams, 2005). Education sector is the most important domain in any country; one that makes its citizens productive and constructive. While in the United States, this sector is flourishing and progressing; there are still some problems that need adequate attention from the authorities. One of such problems that are contributing towards educational deficiencies is the gender insensitivity and racial discrimination within schools and high schools. In some or all of the educational activities including extracurricular and sporting activities,

Afro-American students are either being suppressed or not being given their due share. This problem leads to inefficiencies in the environment and overall schooling system. This problem needs to be sorted out as developing countries boost of being equal to all of the society. No specific gender should have a preference over the other and everyone should enjoy a common position and status within the educational premises (Shapiro, 2005). In this paper, the author will draw an analysis of the various initiatives since Brown vs. Board of Education and leading up to the ESEA to the current No Child Left Behind and Common Core State Standards. In other words, why these mandates were enacted, what was the mission of each and ultimately, have they made a difference in the education of African American youth, primarily grades 6-12.

Discussion

History of African American Education

When African Americans reached freedom after the Civil War, Freedmen wanted to promote education. At first, the Freedmen's Bureau and the American Missionary Association began institutions like Hampton Institute and Morehouse College. By 1890, only one African-American college, Alcorn State in Mississippi, received federal funds from the Morrill Act of 1862. The Second Morrill Act of 1890 increased the access of African-Americans to education, but at great cost: the preservation of segregated universities in neighboring southern states. Like other segregated institutions, they received second-class treatment compared with land-grant universities for whites (Shaker, 2008).

Historically black public universities showed a remarkable history of innovation in areas such as nutrition, agriculture and animal husbandry, and made important contributions to the training of teachers. Former students constituted the majority of teachers and administrators who educated the next generation of African American children, often in segregated school systems. The states originally created segregated graduate programs or granted scholarships for African students to study in the north. The demands of graduate training of African Americans were the basis of the cases of the 1930s and 40s to desegregate schools and graduate professionals, who laid the groundwork for Brown ...