Elitism is the belief in “concept of superiority: the belief that some people or things are inherently superior to others and deserve preeminence, preferential treatment, or higher rewards because of their superiority.” Academic elitism refers to the idea that in highly competitive academic environments only those individuals who are involved in scholarship are regarded as having worthwhile actions and ideas. Academic elitism proposes that those individuals who do not engage in such acts of scholarship are unimportant. Although, it is possible to value academia and scholarship without being an elitist, the elitist ideal is becoming more and more prevalent in both academic and non-academic sectors. This tendency toward academic elitism is most pronounced in highly competitive and highly regarded environments ranging from the local elementary school to the CUNY school system. The tendency towards academic elitism is noticeable in education, particularly in the systems of developed countries. More attention, time and resources are allotted to students who are perceived to be more intelligent than their counterparts, at an early age. This inequality tends to further separate the elite from the remainder of society. Systems that channel include upper class institutions, advanced classes, and other elite student groups. Countries with extensive private school systems also exemplify this trend. Academic elitism is a form of discrimination and therefore should not be allowed to continue the separation and dissent based upon perceived scholastic intelligence. Elitism in elementary and middle school programs based upon academic ability begin at an early age. In America, children belonging to kindergarten through 5th grade are separated base... ... middle of paper ... ...te for the opportunity to New York City Department of Education’s elite public high schools, known as the “Specialized High Schools.” These eight institutions are said to provide “a critical pathway to opportunity for their graduates, many of whom go on to attend the country’s best colleges and universities and later become leaders in our nation’s economic, political, and civic life.” However, these are the same schools whom for over a decade have used the single factor -a student’s rank-order score on a 2.5 hour multiple choice test called the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) to determine the eligibility and population of their institutions. Within the guidelines of this admissions policy, regardless of a student’s previous achievements ranging from straight A’s, perfect attendance or even high potential, the only factor that counts is their score.
In our undergraduate admission system, fully 110 points out of 150 are given for academic factors including grades, test scores, and curriculum. We only count 12 points for test scores, but that is because we value high school grades to a much greater extent--- they can earn up to 80 points. We consider many other factors as well. Race is one of those, but a student who is socioeconomically disadvantaged also can earn 20 points (students cannot earn 20 points for both factors, however). Geographic diversity is also important, and a student from Michigan’s upper peninsula, for example, earns 16 points.
The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency.
Standardized testing has been proven to be biased towards those of ethnic and socioeconomic disadvantaged groups. Wealthy students become more prepared for standardized tests through better life experiences, such as top-quality schools and test prep tutors. Steven Syverson implies that students with high SAT scores are presumed to be “bright” and encouraged to consider the most selective colleges, with no regard to their academic performance in high school (57). Those students that were considered elite, but did not perform well their parents suggested to admission counselors that they were “not challenged” in high school (Syverson 57). According to Marchant and Paulson, race, parent education, and family income were found to account as much as 94% of the variance in scores among states (85:62). Students that belong to multiple disadvantage categories suffered greatly in the scoring criteria. The majority of students with socioeconomic disadvantages are discouraged from attending college. However, those that choose to further their education are more than likely the first ones in their family to attend college. Due to the large debate involving the admissions process using the SAT score, more colleges have adopted the SAT Optional policy because it is “consistent with their institutional mission and
Almost every person who has graduated from high school has taken the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), which is generally used for college admissions. We all remember the stress of taking a test that could affect our future educational plans. Now due to the “No Child Left Behind Act” of 2001, this kind of test is now being administered to children from the 3rd to 8th grades as a way to determine if the school or teachers are educating them properly. High-stakes standardized tests of this nature should not be used to determine the educational abilities of either schools or the teachers.
Skiba, R., Simmons, A., Ritter, S., Gibb, A. Rausch, M.K., Cuadrado, J., & Chung, C.G. (2008). Achieving equity in schools: History, status and current challenges. Exceptional Children, 74(3), 264-288.
Elitism is the behavior of a person or group who see them as superior to the rest of the society in being able to do something. In Defense of Elitism by William A. Henry III it was an interesting short story to read. This short story was very eye opening to me because I am living exactly what In Defense of Elitism is talking about I could say many students in community college are as well. When leaving high school everyone is faced with the option of getting a part time job and going to college whether it is a two-year or a four year or, getting a full time job making the best money you can to make a living. The question is what will be worth doing to make your life better in the future. I work a part time job (graveyard)
Our experiences with social class help define and shape our expectations for education, it’s potential and its power. How is it fair that education is provided for all different economic backgrounds and financial circumstances, but yet not everyone is able to use the education system to its full advantage? For instance, in Mike Rose’s “Blue Collar Brilliance”, his mother to quit school to provide for her family, due to their financial circumstance. Most students choose to go off to the military or workforce because they understand that continuing their education is extremely expensive. Gerald Graff, author of “Hidden Intellectualism”, discusses the difference between “book smarts” and “street smarts”. Graff focuses on how smarts can take countless forms and even be hidden. Take the case of, the gap between the upper-class, and the middle and working class. There are far more obstacles facing the lower classes, such as financial worry, compared to the upper-class.
Yan, W. & Lin, Q. (2004, February 24). The effect of Kindergarten program types and class size on early academic performance. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 12(7). Retrieved March 26, 2004 from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n7/.
For years, people have been trying to figure out ways to equalize the divergent academic achievement rates between rich and poor children. A study published by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2010 found that, since the late 90’s when they first started monitoring over 2,000 children, media
Standardized testing scores proficiencies in most generally accepted curricular areas. The margin of error is too great to call this method effective. “High test scores are generally related to things other than the actual quality of education students are receiving” (Kohn 7). “Only recently have test scores been published in the news-paper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools.”(2) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed upon the American Public School system.
I mentioned earlier that within my own school, we have a problem with segregation between students that take different classes. While not an official program, my school system does have a practice of tracking students together based on achievement levels. Starting in elementary school students tend to grouped based on their academic ability. Often times you will see students of color and students from low-income families in what are often called the “bottom” classes. The students many times are then stuck in the classes that do not have the same high expectations as the one or two classes of our “top” students. Those “top” classes are often times over represented by the white students as well as students from more affluent families. Going back to Orfield, et al (2010), one way to keep this from happening is by “detracking” students (p 25). Oftentimes students are labeled at a young age and sent on track that will carry on all the way through graduation. Minority students, ELL students and students from low income families generally do not test well at young ages and then are put on track of education that has lower expectations than their peers that are from affluent white families. According to Orfield, et al (2010), schools that use detracking strategies for their students often see increased
Although there is much more current evidence about socioeconomic segregation today, the information presented in this study is relevant for a number of reasons including the history and patterns of the dilemma. As a member of a predominantly Hispanic culture, the assessments provided to students seem to be geared towards students living in Northern America. It may be a perception that I have but knowing what goes on in the classrooms at my school district (previously employed), students in this culture struggle with many of the examples that are provided in the assessment, or the STAAR, because our children do not experience the same opportunities including those of weather, seasonal, activities, etc. The fact that the parents work to make ends meet because they have little or no education also makes it difficult for the students to be successful; thus, socioeconomic segregation. “The results suggest that schools serving mostly lower-income students tend to be organized and operated differently than those serving more-affluent students, transcending other school-level differences such as public or private, large or small” (Rumberger & Palardy, 2005, p. 1999). This is completely unacceptable and should be a wake up call to the global system of education. Where a child, no matter the age, goes to school, the quality, rigor, balance, and opportunity to be of equal importance for all.
There is always some sort of competition that is constantly occurring and it is certainly true that only those who exhibit excellence will be superior over the rest of the population. Although Patrick Buchanan’s essay proves the notion that equality among races when it comes to academic is in fact a myth, he failed to illustrate other influences that drive America in to racial inequality.
There seems to be obvious differences in the education system all over America. It caters the upper class majority and it is biased to the ones that serve the lower and middle class minority. There is a strong undercurrent of racial inequality in today's school systems that negatively affect the quality of education that its students receive. A schools potential to give a proper education often depends on the perspective economic, and social, or perhaps the racial backgrounds of its students.
... the wealthier a child’s family is the better school they will attend. This essay does an excellent job of describing the myth of equal opportunity in America. It is obvious from this literary selection that those who are born into wealthier families are set up for success as soon as they begin kindergarten while other children from less fortunate families are simply thrown into working class blue collar positions with little chance for progression to a higher socio-economic class. Education is one of the most important elements within our modern American society. As long as we have this broad spectrum of teaching philosophies and methods, there will always be children with advantages over others. If these differences are evened out, I believe that a reestablishment of a large American middle class is possible, creating a more lucrative and successful nation.