Misconception #9: We need to eliminate the achievement gap.

Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.

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It sounds good. The poor are at a disadvantage, and we need to work to bring them up to the level of everyone else. Of course, that is over-simplified. How do we close the gap? We shift resources from those who are in a good position to succeed and give them to the disadvantaged students.

That’s where the problem is. It’s how we close the gap. Resources should be readily available to everyone. Just imagine if you had two students who learn just as well but one had a head start. If you are treating them as equals, the student behind will never catch up. In order to shift resources, you have to take away from one of the students.

There are a lot of things that influence education. The investments in disadvantaged students haven’t done a whole lot of good. The shift in resources has done a lot more to cripple the advantaged students. Perhaps in a well educated society, the poor will no longer be at an educational disadvantage compared to the rich. Even if we can reach this point, some students will still be more advanced than others unless we cause damage to the faster students. As much as people don't want to hear this, it's not the end of the world if an achievement gap exists