An Investigation of Strategies to Improve Minority Students’ Standardized Tests Achievements

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An Investigation of Strategies to Improve Minority Students’ Standardized Tests Achievements

Rattani, Sarwat Amin. “SAT: Does Racial Bias Exist?.” Creative Education 7.15 (2016): 2151-2162.

The author of the journal article aimed to investigate whether racial bias currently exists in SAT. Additionally, the study also aimed to propose solutions to this bias. The methodological approach applied by the researcher was the review of existing literature relevant to the phenomena under investigation. Specifically, the researcher reviewed websites of different organizations such as SAT, College Board, Fair Test, and Educational Testing Service (ETS). Additionally, articles and research papers, interviews provided by scholarly community members, and court cases regarding SAT were reviewed. The study’s findings suggested that test score gaps in ethnic groups does exist andy can be accounted for by socioeconomic status and stereotype threat. Additionally, the results showed that racial bias, which cannot be dismissed, still exists in the test.

The journal article is a credible resource that will be applied in the research. This is because the researcher has applied ideas from diverse credible sources that are well-cited within the paper. Additionally, different scholars have utilized the findings of this study severally in their work. This resource will be crucial for the current study that aims to explore strategies that can help minorities perform well in standardized tests. Specifically, the resource will be used to justify that there exist differences in test scores among students of minority groups in the United States.

Dixon-Román, Ezekiel J., Howard T. Everson, and John J. McArdle. “Race, poverty and SAT scores: Modeling the influences of family income on black and white high school students’ SAT performance.” Teachers College Record 115.4 (2013): 1-33.

The authors of the journal article aimed to investigate whether the income of a family affects the SAT performance of students. The study applied a secondary analysis approach whereby a huge sample of college-bound white and black high school students who took their SAT in 2003. College Board’s student descriptive questionnaire was used as the source of data to be analyzed in the study. Additionally, structured equation modeling was applied to approximate the impact of income on SAT scores. The findings suggested that family income has a nonlinear differential direct impact on the overall SAT scores of black and white students. The findings also indicated that for several family income levels, the impact was almost twice as large for black students than it was for white students in the sample selected.

The journal article is a reliable resource because it used data from the College Board, which is a credible source of data related to the topic of the study. Additionally, the researchers used different reliable sources when writing the article. This article is important for the current study because its findings support the statement that family income can have an impact on SAT performance and this impact is almost twice as large in black students when compared to white students.

Couch II, Michael, et al. “Rethinking Standardized Testing From An Access, Equity And Achievement Perspective: Has Anything Changed For African American Students?.” Journal of Research Initiatives 5.3 (2021): 6.

The authors of the article aimed to evaluate standardized testing and its impact on African American students. The study focused on three viewpoints that are access, achievement, and equity. The researchers reviewed existing literature on the impact of standardized testing on minority students. The findings of the study suggested that standardized tests deny African American students the chance to access the next grade since they have a history of scoring low. Another significant finding is that test score disparities mean that African American students are excluded from diverse academic and vocational domains and experiences which goes against the idea of equity. The study also suggests that standardized tests continue to drive gender and race gaps in terms of life achievement.

This study is a reliable one for scholars since the researchers reviewed the findings of credible studies on the topic. The citations for these studies have also been included in the article. This study is an essential resource for the proposed research since it outlines the weaknesses of the standardized tests. The resource supports the claim that some measures need to be put in place to help minority students attain better test scores.

Same, Michelle R., et al. “Evidence-Supported Interventions Associated with Black Students’ Education Outcomes: Findings from a Systematic Review of Research.” Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest (2018).

The authors of the journal article conducted a systematic review to explore the interventions that are linked to improved academic achievement of African American students. A literature review design was applied by the researchers to gather relevant data regarding the topic. The findings indicated that different state levels, local districts, school policies and practices, teacher practices in the classroom, and supplemental interventions could help improve the achievements of black students.

This resource is a credible one since it reviews information from credible databases. Additionally, the researchers used inclusion and exclusion criteria that ensured that only relevant literature was acquired. Another strength of the study is that evidence was categorized into tiers, including strong evidence, moderate evidence, and promising evidence categories. This is an important resource for the study, which explores the interventions that can help minority students improve their standardized test scores.

Works Cited

Couch II, Michael, et al. “Rethinking Standardized Testing From An Access, Equity And Achievement Perspective: Has Anything Changed For African American Students?.” Journal of Research Initiatives 5.3 (2021): 6.

Dixon-Román, Ezekiel J., Howard T. Everson, and John J. McArdle. “Race, poverty and SAT scores: Modeling the influences of family income on black and white high school students’ SAT performance.” Teachers College Record 115.4 (2013): 1-33.

Rattani, Sarwat Amin. “SAT: Does Racial Bias Exist?.” Creative Education 7.15 (2016): 2151-2162.

Same, Michelle R., et al. “Evidence-Supported Interventions Associated with Black Students’ Education Outcomes: Findings from a Systematic Review of Research.” Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest (2018).