In contrast to European and Asian nations that fund schools centrally and equally, the wealthiest 10 percent of U.S. educational system is one of the most unequal in the industrialized world, and students routinely receive dramatically different learning opportunities based on their social status. The assumptions that undergird this debate miss an important reality: educational outcomes for minority children are much more a function of their unequal access to key educational resources, including skilled teachers and quality curriculum, than they are a function of race. The presumption that guides much of the conversation is that equal opportunity now exists therefore, continued low levels of achievement on the part of minority students must be a function of genes, culture, or a lack of effort and will (see, for example, Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray’s The Bell Curve and Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom’s America in Black and White). And for Americans of all backgrounds, the allocation of opportunity in a society that is becoming ever more dependent on knowledge and education is a source of great anxiety and concern.Īt the center of these debates are interpretations of the gaps in educational achievement between white and non-Asian minority students as measured by standardized test scores. From the perspective of others who daily experience the consequences of ongoing discrimination, affirmative action is needed to protect opportunities likely to evaporate if an affirmative obligation to act fairly does not exist. From the perspective of many Americans who believe that the vestiges of discrimination have disappeared, affirmative action now provides an unfair advantage to minorities. In recent years, the most visible evidence of this in the public policy arena has been the persistent attack on affirmative action in higher education and employment. DuBois was right about the problem of the 21st century.
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