Savage Inequalities Revisited: Adequacy, Equity, and State High Court Decisions

Preparing Students to Be Globally Competitive in the 21st Century: Exploring Educational Leaders’ Global-Mindedness and Student Achievement in North Carolina Public High Schools

“…Despite efforts to add resources to highpoverty districts, there was almost no change in the reported student achievement (Loeb et al, 2007). Verstegen, Venegas, and Knoeppel (2006) observe that, in terms of school resources, as opposed to spending per pupil, inequalities between rich and poor school districts continued to be evident throughout the United States. According to Darling-Hammond (2007), low-propertywealth districts report larger class sizes, fewer teachers and counselors, and offer fewer college preparatory courses, extracurricular activities, materials, technology, libraries, and special education services.…”

Educational Leaders and the Acknowledgment Gap

“…An acknowledgment gap exists when educational leaders (i.e., policymakers and implementers at federal, state, and local levels) fail to acknowledge the effects of inequalities experienced every day by America's childrenmost devastatingly by those without reliable access to food, safe housing, health care, dental care, and school facilities and resources that inspire learning-particularly when defining and implementing standardized expectations, measures, and consequences for students' and schools' academic performances (Addy, Engelhardt, & Skinner, 2013;Gardner, 2007;Kozol, 1991Kozol, , 2005Johnson & Johnson, 2002;Verstegen, Venegas, & Knoeppel, 2006). Kozol's Savage Inequalities (1991) and Shame of the Nation (2005) document the distinctly different kinds of educational experiences made available to different categories of America's children.…”

“…Kozol's Savage Inequalities (1991) and Shame of the Nation (2005) document the distinctly different kinds of educational experiences made available to different categories of America's children. Verstegen, Venegas, and Knoeppel (2006) summarize and reiterate these in "Savage Inequalities Revisited: Adequacy, Equity and State High Court Decisions," noting that multiple court cases across the nation continue to find school facilities, educational programs, and learning conditions to be grossly inadequate for children of the poor.…”

“…The image is evocative, representing decades of educational accountability approaches that are tightly focused on closing the achievement gap but lacking in attention to the surrounding contexts (e.g., Kozol's Savage Inequalities, 2002) that help to create and explain that multidimensional chasm. This is a matter of great significance, especially for students experiencing the effects of such social ills as poverty and racism and the inequalities they perpetuate in our nation's schools (Baker & Corcoran, 2012;Gardner, 2007;Hughes, Newkirk, & Stenhjem, 2010;Johnson & Johnson, 2002;Kozol, 1991Kozol, , 2005McKissack, 2008;Public school funding unequal, 2012;Verstegen, Venegas & Knoeppel, 2006). With $604.3 billion being spent annually in the United States on public education, $528.8 billion locally, and $75.5 billion by the federal government (Cornman, 2013), the image of seeds falling on concrete is significant to state and national accountability efforts, as well.…”

School Socioeconomic Classification, Funding, and the New Jersey High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA)

“…Many richer districts have modern gymnasiums with pools, computers available for each student, sports teams (such as golf, swimming, lacrosse), music, language, and art classes starting in kindergarten (Goertz & Edwards, 1999;Verstegen et al, 2006). Because of these disparities, the low SES children, therefore, have fewer opportunities to socialize and access facilities provided by the entire community, resulting in negative effects on academic performance.…”