Part 1 of a series

Junior Sidni Frederick attributes her success in school to both an ardent interest in academics and a drive to work hard.

“My dad is an immigrant, and he was always really big on education and how important it is to work hard in school,” said Frederick. “That is what’s going to take you places in life, and that’s what allowed him to come here from Trinidad.”

Frederick is one of the disproportionately low number of African-American students taking honors or Advanced Placement courses. The disparity of African-American students in honors and AP classes is one trend that is part of a larger problem known as the achievement gap.

An achievement gap is a measurable difference in the academic performance of one demographic group to another. There are also gaps between the performance of Hispanic students and white students, and between low-income students and middle- and upper-income students (see infographic on page seven).

According to African-American Scholars Program Director Chris Vick, the income achievement gap is closely related to the racial achievement gap because African-American students are more likely to come from a low-income household. However, even when there is no income disparity, white students still outperform African-American students, making race on its own a factor in achievement.

Dean Adrian Mims explained that the achievement gaps stem from multiple sources. He cited a study conducted by Betty Hart and Todd Risley at the University of Kansas. The 1995 study, titled Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children, found, among other things, that kindergarten students from higher-income families had learned more words than students from lower-income families, as the latter had limited opportunities to expand vocabularies. The study proved that the achievement gap starts before students even enter school and that exposure to language is a contributing factor to the gap.

Vick added that the achievement gap grows exponentially once children are in school. What this shows is that the achievement gap occurs because of students’ experiences both in and out of school.

According to Mims, this achievement gap exists for the same reason in many schools: parents, teachers and students are not all on the same page.

“Parents having a lack of understanding about education contributes to the gap as well,” said Mims. “I think all schools have to do a better job of articulating that message to the parents so they can understand and they can be allies that help teachers and administrators make sure their children are receiving a good education.”

Steps to Success Program Director Carrie Weatherhead said that one reason many parents in Brookline public housing do not understand what is going on at the high school is that they are not comfortable with English.

Senior Anisa Noor moved to Massachusetts from Kenya in 2000 and now lives in Brookline public housing. She is in both Steps to Success and the African-American Scholars Program. Her mother does not speak English.

According to Noor, students are left to translate for and inform parents, leaving potential for students to not report poor grades to parents. Even if students are completely truthful, parents who get all of their information about school from their children are not in a position to provide them with much advice. Noor said her mother can give her moral support but no specific information.

Senior Mariano Suriel, who also lives in Brookline public housing, is also in Steps to Success and the African-American Scholars Program. He immigrated from the Dominican Republic to the United States in fourth grade. He agreed with Noor, saying that the only college his father had heard of was Harvard. Suriel agreed that many new immigrants and first-generation college applicants are unable to get advice about college from their parents.

“We hear stories about other students having to talk to their parents about college choice and what classes they should take. We don’t have those types of talks at all. We kind of do it on our own,” said Suriel.

Low expectations can be another factor hampering student achievement, Weatherhead said. Wealthy students operate under the assumption that they are going to attend college. For low-income students, that is not always the case because tuition costs are so high.

While Noor said she has always wanted to go to college, Suriel did not. Before he came to Brookline as a freshman, he lived in Plymouth and attended a trade school, training to become an auto technician.

According to Weatherhead, even if parents send clear signals that they expect their children to go to college, most low-income parents did not attend or finish college themselves and therefore do not know what it takes to get there. For example, they might not know all the ins and outs of the college application process, nor that it is better to take a higher-level course than to take a lower-level course, even if that means getting a lower grade.

Other practical things can hamper student achievement. Weatherhead said that many low-income students do not have easy access to the Internet or a quiet place to study at home.

Additionally, she said many low-income parents work longer hours compared to higher-income parents, so the parents are unable to devote as much time to parenting. Also, the parents do not have the money to hire a babysitter or a tutor to supervise their children and keep them on task. While none of these problems individually causes an achievement gap, Weatherhead said that the effects accrue over time.

Weatherhead also noted that problems at school contribute to the achievement gap. Summer school courses, which are often necessary to prepare students to switch to a higher level class, often cost a lot of money, and scholarships are not always available. Furthermore, taking a summer school course could prevent a student from getting most jobs and earning money, according to Weatherhead

Another issue is special education. According to Weatherhead, many low-income students are tested at some point in elementary school for English deficiencies or behavioral issues and then diagnosed with a learning disability. According to Weatherhead, though, weaknesses can be be found in many people if they are tested. It just so happens that many low-income students get tested.

After students are diagnosed with a disability, an Individualized Education Plan is created for them. Because of problems with communication, parents might not fully understand the process of developing an IEP. Often, special education is part of an IEP. Weatherhead said that when students are pulled out of class in elementary school for special education, they miss the mainstream curriculum and arrive at the high school less prepared.

Weatherhead said that many low-income students who do not even have a learning disability are assigned to standard-level courses by elementary school guidance counselors who are worried that too many honors courses would overwhelm those students.

According to Vick, economic issues also affect African-American and Hispanic students because they are more likely than white students to come from a low-income household. However, they also face obstacles that are not related to finances.

Vick said that teachers sometimes have lower expectations for African-American and Hispanic students.

“I think what research says is that teachers tend to have higher expectations of folks that come from the same racial or socioeconomic group that they do,” said Vick. “A preponderance of our teachers are white, middle-class women, by and large, at least in Brookline. That’s not who the preponderance of our kids are.”

Vick said that African-American and Hispanic students often feel uncomfortable in higher-level classes if they feel like they stand out.

“Sometimes for a black kid, they have to feel the pressure of having to disprove all the negative stereotypes that they’ll hear about themselves all the time: they’re good at sports, they’re not as smart, they talk slang, they come from a different neighborhood,” said Vick. “We’ve got to be thoughtful about ensuring that black kids and Latino kids know they belong in those classes.”

Freshman Raven Brathwaite, a student in the  METCO program, said that while she notices those stereotypes, they do not influence her significantly.

“A lot of people perceive that African-Americans are supposed to dress in a very urban way. I don’t. I have my own sense of style,” said Brathwaite. “I find myself in that situation where people call me ‘Oreo,’ which is black on the outside, but I seem white on the inside. A lot of the time it’s my own race that does it. I think it’s because they’re not familiar with how I’m acting.”

Brathwaite’s father is a maintenance manager and her mother is a teacher. They live in a single-family house in Roxbury, and she describes herself as middle-class. Brathwaite started out her schooling going to the Shady Hill School in Cambridge. In second grade, she was accepted into the METCO program, and the following year she began attending the Runkle School.

Brathwaite said she is comfortable being mostly surrounded by students of a different race because she is used to it. However, she understands that some students do not want to leave their friends and cliques, even if it means being in the wrong class for them.

Suriel, however, does not think that minority students are in classes with like peers simply because they want to be with their friends.

“It’s not because you like hanging around with your people,” said Suriel. “It’s having somebody like you, who knows your experience.”

Suriel, who started his freshman year in all standard classes and is now in all honors, said that switching up to honors classes where he was one of the only minority students turned out to be fine. He said he wishes more students can learn that honors classes are not as uncomfortable as they may seem, and that as minority students see other minority students in honors classes, they are less intimidated.

“We need more role models,” Suriel said.

Corey Grill and Aaron Sege can be contacted at [email protected].