Research Library
From the Achievement Gap to the Education Debt
Subtitle: Understading Achievement in U.S. Schools
Author: Ladson-Billings, G.
Publisher: Educational Researcher
Publication Date: 2006, October
Summary or Abstract: The achievement gap is one of the most talked-about issues in U.S. education. The term refers to the disparities in standardized test scores between Black and White, Latino and White, and recent immigrant and White students. The article argues that a focus on the gap is misplaced. Instead, we need to look at the "education debt" that has accumulated over time. This debt comprises historical, economic, sociopolitical, and moral components. The author draws the analogy with the concept of the national debt - which she contrasts with that of a national budget deficit - to argue the significance of the education debt.