An “achievement gap” refers to the gap in academic performance between groups of students. This shows up in grades, test scores, course selection, dropout rates, and college completion rates. Today's children perform better on tests than those of about 40 years ago, but there is still a significant achievement gap among elementary school students. (Campbell)Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The achievement gap is a multifaceted problem that can be examined from multiple perspectives. At the federal level, we have the No Child Left Behind Act which requires schools to meet annual improvement goals in specific academic areas. (Education Week) Basically, schools are responsible for students who fall behind. Due to factors such as the achievement gap, many schools and districts are at risk. The achievement gap is also fueled by factors such as the educational gap. American students don't perform as well as those in other countries, perhaps because teachers here face many obstacles. American teachers must cope with larger classes. They are expected to teach upwards of 20 or more students at a time and it is difficult to evenly distribute your attention to all of these people at once. Teachers in the United States also spend more hours than teachers in other countries directly instructing their students each week. It is therefore more difficult for our teachers to find the time to work on creating programs, learning new teaching methods, correcting papers, working individually with students and contacting parents. If we were to value our teachers more, they would have more time to organize tasks that would help our students succeed in the classroom. White students and students of all racial/ethnic groups as well as students of different genders experience this achievement divide. On standardized tests, many students of color continually perform well below their white counterparts in all subjects. In math and reading, the average black student is in the 13th percentile, meaning 87 percent of white students outperform the average black student. (National Center for Education Statistics)Even at age nine, there is a 26-point gap in math and reading between black and white students. Although the gap has narrowed compared to what it was in the 1970s, it is still far too large. Another factor explaining the black-white achievement gap is the composition of schools. On average, white students attend schools that are only 9% black, while black students attend schools that are 48% black. Schools with the highest density of black students tend to be those with the most underperformance. Interestingly, although achievement for both black and white students was lower in schools with higher density of black students than in schools with lower density, the achievement gap was no different. There has also been a consistent gap between boys and girls in reading and mathematics. In 2012, boys performed better than girls in mathematics, while girls outperformed boys in reading. In fourth,.