Assari Shervin, Zare Hossein
Department of Internal Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Open J Educ Res. 2024;4(6):365-380. doi: 10.31586/ojer.2024.1124. Epub 2024 Nov 5.
This study examines racial disparities in educational outcomes-including reading proficiency, grade point average (GPA), school discrimination, and school disciplinary actions-across regions with different levels of educational childhood opportunity index (COI). Our aim is to explore how these racial gaps between Black and White students vary in areas with differing educational opportunities. We hypothesize that higher COI is associated with smaller academic achievement gaps but may also correspond with greater racial bias in unfair school treatment.
Data were drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which provides comprehensive measures of educational outcomes, cognitive performance, and COI. National COI rankings were used to classify regions into five categories: very high, high, average, low, and very low educational opportunity. We analyzed racial gaps in reading proficiency, and experiences of discrimination and suspension across these COI categories. Multi-group Structural Equation Models (SEM) were used to assess how the relationship between race and educational outcomes varies across COI levels.
Our findings confirmed that Black-White gaps in reading proficiency and cognitive test performance (Flanker task) were less pronounced in regions with higher COI. However, racial disparities in school disciplinary actions and experiences of discrimination were more pronounced in higher-opportunity areas. Specifically, the effect of Black race was stronger in regions with the highest COI, where Black students experienced a disproportionately higher rate of unfair school treatment, including both school discrimination and suspensions, compared to their White peers.
This exploratory study supports that while higher educational opportunities are associated with smaller academic achievement gaps between Black and White students, they might be linked to increased racial bias in school disciplinary actions and discriminatory treatment. These findings underscore the complexity of educational equity, suggesting that improving access to quality education alone is insufficient to eliminate racial disparities in school experiences. Addressing school-based bias and discrimination must accompany efforts to enhance educational opportunities.
本研究考察了在不同儿童教育机会指数（COI）水平的地区，教育成果方面的种族差异，包括阅读能力、平均绩点（GPA）、学校歧视和学校纪律处分。我们的目的是探讨黑人和白人学生之间的这些种族差距在教育机会不同的地区是如何变化的。我们假设较高的COI与较小的学业成绩差距相关，但也可能与不公平学校待遇中更大的种族偏见相对应。
数据来自青少年大脑认知发展（ABCD）研究，该研究提供了教育成果、认知表现和COI的综合测量。全国COI排名被用于将地区分为五类：教育机会非常高、高、平均、低和非常低。我们分析了这些COI类别中阅读能力的种族差距，以及歧视和停学的经历。多组结构方程模型（SEM）被用于评估种族与教育成果之间的关系如何随COI水平而变化。
我们的研究结果证实，在COI较高的地区，黑人和白人在阅读能力和认知测试表现（侧翼任务）上的差距不太明显。然而，学校纪律处分和歧视经历方面的种族差异在机会较高的地区更为明显。具体而言，在COI最高的地区，黑人种族的影响更强，与白人同龄人相比，黑人学生遭受不公平学校待遇的比例过高，包括学校歧视和停学。
这项探索性研究支持，虽然更高的教育机会与黑人和白人学生之间较小的学业成绩差距相关，但它们可能与学校纪律处分和歧视性待遇中种族偏见的增加有关。这些发现强调了教育公平的复杂性，表明仅改善优质教育的可及性不足以消除学校经历中的种族差异。解决基于学校的偏见和歧视必须与增加教育机会的努力相伴。
