Ain’t No Achievement Gap: Anti-Literacy Laws and the Literacy Divide

• Published in: Journal of African American studies (New Brunswick, N.J.) Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 172 - 186
• Main Author: Sandles, David L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.06.2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 18th century; Academic achievement; African American studies; African Americans; Black people; Black students; Children; Children & youth; Demographic aspects; Education; Educational attainment; Fear & phobias; Learning; Legislation; Lineage; Literacy; Political Science; Reading; Regional and Cultural Studies; Schools; Slavery; Social Sciences; Sociology; Teachers; Terminology; White people; Writing; United States; Black people; Education; Literacy; Enslavement; Legislation
• ISSN: 1559-1646; 1936-4741
• DOI: 10.1007/s12111-023-09623-8

Well-known in educational circles is the terminology that encapsulates the achievement discrepancy between white and Black students. The so-called achievement gap, the signature language used to represent the different achievement levels, challenges educators everywhere to find best practices to attend to the needs and interests of Black students. With dubious beginnings, the achievement gap arguably began during the period of American history when black people were enslaved and disallowed to educate themselves with even the most basic literacy components. This writing traces the lineage of black literacy from the mid-1700s to the present and makes the case that there is no achievement gap, there only exists a so-called achievement gap that has continually proven harmful to Black children. Accordingly, this article uses BlackCrit to examine the so-called achievement gap and to offer suggestions for mitigating its impact in educational environments.