A panel of speakers from a variety of academic disciplines gathered on Thursday to discuss educational inequality and achievement gaps in American schools. The event, organized by Breakthrough Collaborative Campus Recruiter Andrew Ribner ’14 and Campus Campaign Coordinator for Teach for America Randyl Wilkerson ’12, attracted an audience of more than 50 students.

Assistant Professors of Psychology Anna Shusterman and Steve Stemler, Assistant Professor of Sociology Daniel Long, Associate Professor of Dance Katja Kolcio, and child advocacy lawyer Josh Michtom discussed methods of assessment, and causes of and possible solutions to these inequities from their diverse perspectives. Collectively, they identified numerous factors that result in differences among students prior to their entry into the educational system, and how these discrepancies affect future success.

“It’s important to keep in mind that there are multiple influences on the achievement gaps and very divergent perspectives about which things will make differences,” Long said.

As the first to speak, Long identified three main approaches to improving the current educational system, which he labeled “conservative,” “liberal,” and “new Democrat.” He also provided an overview of data that demonstrated the magnitude of achievement gaps according to socioeconomic class and ethnic groupings.

“Sociologists look at the role of institutions and how they operate, and the nature of the educational system is that it operates over multiple different levels and institutions,” Long said. “Schools are nested within administrative, state-wide and national institutions, and all of these different institutions have an effect on individual classrooms and individual learning. We need to step back and look at how institutions interact with each other.”

As a lawyer in Hartford, the city with the second-highest level of childhood poverty after Detroit, Michtom identified poverty as the largest factor affecting children’s ability to succeed in school. He discussed how children from less affluent families possess limited access to resources and are less likely to see potential learning or behavioral problems addressed before they enter the school system.

“Poverty is the biggest problem for educational inequality,” Michtom said. “Achievement gaps are a result of compounding systemic factors that start from a family’s economic situation.”

Shusterman acknowledged the problems associated with low economic status and stressed that differences in dialect and early language environments greatly affect student success. She addressed how achievement gaps result from different English dialects being spoken in students’ homes compared to the Standard English being used in the classroom and for testing.

“When working to solve educational inequality we have to address poverty, and we need to understand the cultural variation and the different backgrounds from which students are coming,” Shusterman said. “We need to recognize that some students have to cross a bigger linguistic and educational gap in order to succeed.”

She also noted that there are discrepancies according to socioeconomic class and cultural expectations with regards to vocabulary exposure and the number of books in the home.

Stemler said it is important to recognize that there are different perspectives on and methods of measuring what constitutes inequality, and acknowledged that most recent educational policy is based on outcomes as seen through test results. He said that many schools are utilizing new technology in the classroom as a means of improving education, but that access to these resources is limited.

“In this new era of digital technology, there’s a ‘digital divide’ along socioeconomic status,” Stemler said. “The rise in this technology brings up questions of use and access.”

Stemler noted that methods of testing affect the consideration of educational success. He cited how achievement in certain skill areas varied by ethnic group, stating that African American tended to do the best in creative assessments, white students tend to succeed in tests of memory and analytical skills, and Hispanic students did better on practical assessments. He suggested that a wider variety of skills should be considered to determine educational success and progress in schools.

“If we’re going to judge educational programs, we should broaden the range of cognitive skills we consider when we measure outcomes,” he said.

Kolcio also emphasized problems in how educational reform is approached, citing a lack of quantitative research and documentation of how the arts influence educational success. She said that there is an emphasis in the government and within schools on a narrow curriculum that carries an implicit message of the superiority of certain disciplines.

“Content areas end up being in competition with each other,” she said. “The systems of reforming our education are biased, and people are predisposed to a certain way of thinking about education. We need to consider the education gap at a broader level that includes the difference that the arts make.”

Wilkerson agreed that it is important to consider all aspects of the educational system and approach problems in the educational system from different points of view.

“If you just look at problems from an economic or sociological perspective, you’re limited,” she said. “A holistic approach can do the most in terms of improving the system.”

Ribner expressed his satisfaction with the panelists’ overview and the great interest from students.

“This was a really great opportunity for the Wesleyan community and will hopefully open a door for further education discussion,” Ribner said. “This is the first time many of these professors have been on a panel together, and their collaborative discussion gives an interesting perspective. Simply based on the number of students who attended, this is a topic of great interest to the Wesleyan community.”

Christian Hosam ’15 cited the connection between the educational system and our economy as a reason for his interest in the topic.

“Having a deeper understanding of education equality allows us to better understand why we’re here, where we’re going, and how we perpetuate a system of social classes,” Hosam said. “There’s a lot of economic inequality right now, and education inequality is probably the most responsive factor to that. So getting a deeper understanding gives us a stronger base for how to fix our community on economic and social terms.”

Alyssa Bonneau ’14 also emphasized the need for increased understanding, especially given current debates about educational reform.

“I’m very interested in education and education policy,” she said. “There’s a huge debate going on but a lot of people aren’t informed, so people end up supporting things that they might not if they had more information on it. It’s important for people to be informed–otherwise it turns into a very one-sided debate.”

status and stressed that differences in dialect and early language environments greatly affect student success. She addressed how achievement gaps result from different English dialects being spoken in students’ homes compared to the Standard English being used in the classroom and for testing.

“When working to solve educational inequality we have to address poverty, and we need to understand the cultural variation and the different backgrounds from which students are coming,” Shusterman said. “We need to recognize that some students have to cross a bigger linguistic and educational gap in order to succeed.”

She also noted that there are discrepancies according to socioeconomic class and cultural expectations with regards to vocabulary exposure and the number of books in the home.

Stemler said it is important to recognize that there are different perspectives on and methods of measuring what constitutes inequality, and acknowledged that most recent educational policy is based on outcomes as seen through test results. He said that many schools are utilizing new technology in the classroom as a means of improving education, but that access to these resources is limited.

“In this new era of digital technology, there’s a ‘digital divide’ along socioeconomic status,” Stemler said. “The rise in this technology brings up questions of use and access.”

Stemler noted that methods of testing affect the consideration of educational success. He cited how achievement in certain skill areas varied by ethnic group, stating that African American tended to do the best in creative assessments, white students tend to succeed in tests of memory and analytical skills, and Hispanic students did better on practical assessments. He suggested that a wider variety of skills should be considered to determine educational success and progress in schools.

“If we’re going to judge educational programs, we should broaden the range of cognitive skills we consider when we measure outcomes,” he said.

Kolcio also emphasized problems in how educational reform is approached, citing a lack of quantitative research and documentation of how the arts influence educational success. She said that there is an emphasis in the government and within schools on a narrow curriculum that carries an implicit message of the superiority of certain disciplines.

“Content areas end up being in competition with each other,” she said. “The systems of reforming our education are biased, and people are predisposed to a certain way of thinking about education. We need to consider the education gap at a broader level that includes the difference that the arts make.”

Wilkerson agreed that it is important to consider all aspects of the educational system and approach problems in the educational system from different points of view.

“If you just look at problems from an economic or sociological perspective, you’re limited,” she said. “A holistic approach can do the most in terms of improving the system.”

Ribner expressed his satisfaction with the panelists’ overview and the great interest from students.

“This was a really great opportunity for the Wesleyan community and will hopefully open a door for further education discussion,” Ribner said. “This is the first time many of these professors have been on a panel together, and their collaborative discussion gives an interesting perspective. Simply based on the number of students who attended, this is a topic of great interest to the Wesleyan community.”

Christian Hosam ’15 cited the connection between the educational system and our economy as a reason for his interest in the topic.

“Having a deeper understanding of education equality allows us to better understand why we’re here, where we’re going, and how we perpetuate a system of social classes,” Hosam said. “There’s a lot of economic inequality right now, and education inequality is probably the most responsive factor to that. So getting a deeper understanding gives us a stronger base for how to fix our community on economic and social terms.”

Alyssa Bonneau ’14 also emphasized the need for increased understanding, especially given current debates about educational reform.

“I’m very interested in education and education policy,” she said. “There’s a huge debate going on but a lot of people aren’t informed, so people end up supporting things that they might not if they had more information on it. It’s important for people to be informed–otherwise it turns into a very one-sided debate.”