SOC 001 Lecture 20: Soc L. Notes - 20
23 Sep 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
M. May
Intro to Sociology
Sociology 1
College of the Sequoias
L. Notes
Success of the US Educational System
● US educational system is successful
○ in 1910, less than 10% of people had a high school diploma
■ less than 2% had a college degree
● enrollment continues to rise at all levels of education
○ measures of how much students are learning compared to the past and to other
countries, are generally holding steady
● the main issue with the US educational system is one of the inequality in school (race
inequality)
Inequality between and within schools
Between
● resources
○ more money per pupil have more teachers, textbooks, music, and athletic
programs
● class size
○ smaller class sizes lead to better educational outcomes
● private vs public
○ catholic schools, secular private, and public schools
○ causal effects hard to unravel
Within
● tracking divides students into classes based on future plans
○ tracking’s dark side
■ based on race and class
■ students in general or vocational tracks have poor outcomes
■ ex: female are known to be put on social sciences rather than hard sciences
like engineering
● teacher and classroom effects
○ teachers who innovate, follow best practices, and have high expectations have
students who do better
■ Gifted students showed
Race and class inequality in education
Document Summary
Us educational system is successful in 1910, less than 10% of people had a high school diploma less than 2% had a college degree. Enrollment continues to rise at all levels of education. Measures of how much students are learning compared to the past and to other countries, are generally holding steady the main issue with the us educational system is one of the inequality in school (race inequality) More money per pupil have more teachers, textbooks, music, and athletic programs. Smaller class sizes lead to better educational outcomes. Catholic schools, secular private, and public schools. Within tracking divides students into classes based on future plans tracking"s dark side. Students in general or vocational tracks have poor outcomes. Ex: female are known to be put on social sciences rather than hard sciences like engineering teacher and classroom effects teachers who innovate, follow best practices, and have high expectations have students who do better.
