English Esaay

Rubric for Essay #1 Criteria Ratings Pts THESIS view longer description

15 pts Full Marks 0 pts No Marks Comments I see your thesis in your second paragraph, but I think you can still revise the thesis more for it to better fit the argument you are making. You main focus is on the idea that unequal education is given to students in the US based on race, and schools that have a predominant minority population have less funding, and so on. Make that clearer in your thesis so that your essay is more unified and focused.

12 / 15 pts

STRUCTURE/ORGANIZATION view longer description

15 pts Full Marks 0 pts No Marks Comments There seems to be a bit of organization lacking in this essay. I think with a stronger thesis and better topic sentences, your organization can improve.

13 / 15 pts

CONTEXT view longer description

10 pts Full Marks 0 pts No Marks Comments Because you don't really quote enough from the texts, and you simply paraphrase, it's hard to rate you in this category. Consider providing more detailed quotes from the texts.

9 / 10 pts

EVIDENCE view longer description

20 pts Full Marks 0 pts No Marks Comments You are missing a great deal of evidence in this argument. You do reference the texts, but I want more detailed examples/evidence to prove your argument.

12 / 20 pts

Rubric for Essay #1 Criteria Ratings Pts ANALYSIS view longer description

20 pts Full Marks 0 pts No Marks Comments In order to have a stronger argument, you must analyze more. Connect all your points to your main argument and explain what they prove. How do your points prove that we have an unequal education? With better evidence, this category will improve as well.

14 / 20 pts

GRAMMAR view longer description

10 pts Full Marks 0 pts No Marks Comments There are some unclear sentences which hurt the flow of your writing, but overall, your language is easy to read and understand.

8 / 10 pts

REQUIREMENTS view longer description

10 pts Full Marks 0 pts No Marks Comments Be sure to quote more from the readings in order to meet the essay requirements.

8 / 10 pts

Total Points: 76

Access to Quality Education in the US

Formal education is a very important aspect in today’s age and era that all children

should access. That is why many countries around the world, aspire to provide basic education

for children of school going age for purposes of improving quality of life, growth and

development of an individual as well that of a nation. In the US, the constitution provides for the

right to education for all children and emphasizes that none should experience discrimination

regarding accessibility to education. Despite laying emphasis on education for all, it fails to

highlight on the quality of the same. Consequently, not all-American children have access to

high quality education and this influences classroom performance of children especially the

underprivileged ones (Kozol 50). Precisely, not all Americans have access to quality formal

education today for various reasons.

The system of formal education in the US provides for learners to pursue the same in

public, private, as well as home-based schools depending on the choice of an individual. The

quality of education offered in these learning institutions considerably varies even if curriculum

remains the same. Public schools draw most of their financial and material support from state

and local governments, which in many occasions are not enough to sustain a high quality-

learning environment compared to private learning institutions (Chapman, Masters, & Pedulla

243). Since social and economic statuses of parents differ, it would therefore dictate which

learning institution a child enrolls in to pursue education. Generally, the main contributing

factors towards inaccessibility of quality education for all learners’ hinges around racial

segregation, inadequate funds, and lack of attention for some selected schools coupled with lack

of importance attached to such learning institutions.

Public learning institutions are normally cheaper than private schools since they are

meant to ensure that all school going age children access formal education irrespective of social

and economic status. Additionally, even in these public-learning institutions, quality also varies

depending on resources available to support learning programs and activities hence influencing

quality of learning (Phillips & Chin 507). Therefore, the idea of equal opportunity for all

enshrined in the constitution being a well-intentioned move, fails to factor in high quality

education for all children as should be. In America, diverse cultures and racial groups exist.

There are majority white racial population groups as well as minority population groups such as

Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics among others.

Previously and even today, some habits of xenophobic and stereotypical attitudes prevail,

which affects equal opportunities for all learners especially regarding formal education (Kozol

43). For long, a good number of minority population groups in the US have lower incomes

associated with institutionalized discrimination. Since a well-paying job goes hand in hand with

a high level of educational attainments, these minority groups are unable to secure such lucrative

job opportunities because of lower educational attainments. Consequently, they are unable to

take their children to luxurious and upper market private learning institutions. It is therefore

circumstantially compelling for them to take their children to public schools. Private schools

usually provide high quality education compared to public learning institutions, with some

offering different curriculum. Consequently, despite the country providing formal education for

all, it is usually not of high quality for all learners in the nation.

Moreover, even in public schools meant to enhance equal opportunity for all learners as a

right, some discrepancies exist, which tends to bring about the wide margin regarding access to

quality formal education witnessed in the country. An enabling or conducive learning

environment contributes to high quality of education, which some schools lack. Public learning

institutions dominated by learners from minority population groups register a problem of funds

accessibility meant to develop and improve quality formal education. Learning in some of these

institutions takes place in dilapidated structures that seriously affect quality-learning processes

and quality service delivery by teachers (Kozol 45). In other words, lack of proper attention as

well as importance attached to some learning institutions tends to influence overall quality

service delivery and this greatly influences performance.

Aside from that, some of the learning institutions that minority population learners

dominate normally lack essential learning facilities that enhance quality of learning. These

institutions also lack the required number of personnel to handle learners alongside healthcare

personnel to take care of them. In certain instances, teachers handling public learning institutions

predominantly minority communities sometimes go to work ill prepared and offer substandard

services to learners unlike in predominantly white racial schools (Phillips & Chin 469). In other

words, since racial discrimination still prevails in the country, public learning institutions

dominated by minority population groups appears to experience social and economic

discrimination that eventually affect quality of learning. In contrast, the opposite situation is

usually the case in private learning institutions dominated by white racial groups. Consequently,

this leads to the imbalance regarding provision of quality education in the US.

The aspect of access to quality education in the US does not affect the minority

communities alone but some few white racial population groups as well. Social and economic

stratification in the community tends to affect all people including the dominant white race. It

therefore follows that even some few financially underprivileged white racial populations also

take their children to public learning institutions. Those who take their children to public schools

dominated by minority communities equally withstand the worst in line with access to quality

education. That is why nearly all whites aim at ensuring that their children learn in segregated

learning institutions be it private or public to acquire quality education (Kozol 45). A white child

may board a vehicle to a distance white dominated school and leave a nearby learning institution

primarily for minority racial learners in an attempt to seek quality education.

Generally, despite the constitution enshrining education for all without discrimination

that is not enough since elements of discrimination persists along the lines of race and economic

status (Phillips & Chin 502). No one bars a child of a minority racial group from learning in high

end or prestigious private learning institutions provided he or she can afford the same. The

problem lies in poverty, which eventually denies all learners access to quality education and

performance. Therefore, there is urgent need to think about policies and programs that would

enhance quality in public schools so that the aspect of quality discrepancies comes under control.

Nevertheless, racial stereotype alongside poverty are some issues that needs addressing to help

handle the problem of high-quality education for all learners, which is currently available in

exclusively in private learning institutions.

In conclusion, accessing formal education for all children is vital for purposes of

improving their quality of life as well as helping substantially grow and develop the economy of

the nation. Establishment of public learning institutions helped realize this end. Unfortunately, it

failed to address the issue of high-quality education for all learners. Presently, there is no high-

quality education in most public schools instead, the same remains exclusively in high-end

private schools. Precisely, not all Americans have access to quality formal education today for

various reasons.

Works Cited

Chapman, Lauren, Jessica Masters, and Joseph Pedulla. "Do digital divisions still persist in

schools? Access to technology and technical skills of teachers in high needs schools in

the United States of America." Journal of education for teaching36.2 (2010): 239-249.

Kozol, Jonathan. "Still separate, still unequal." Harper's Magazine 9 (2005): 41-55.

Phillips, Meredith, and Tiffani Chin. "School inequality: What do we know." Social

inequality (2004): 467-519.