Ethics
As the national debate on education continues, many studies are being conducted to focus on the performance of students in a variety of areas. The central idea of the studies is to collect and analyze data in the pursuit of understanding relevant issues, and sometimes to recommend policy steps to help bring about improvements in key areas. One such recent study was conducted by the Applied Research Center, a non-profit public policy group in Oakland, California, and reported in The New York Times on March 1, 2000. The study dealt with a comparison of minority and white students in 12 large public school districts across the country. It found that the minority students were far more likely than whites to be suspended or expelled, and far less likely in gifted or advanced placement classes. It reported these racial inequalities in all of the districts studied. The findings are certainly distressing and they call out for steps to reverse the trend and improve the minority students’ standings in the future. Theoretically, the American education system is supposed to be a great equalizer and provide equal opportunities to students regardless of race, gender, and economic class.