Disaggregating the Achievement Gap: Academic Dissonance Between U.S. Born Blacks and Black Immigrants

Part of a multiyear study, this project disaggregates the US Black student population to analyze often overlooked factors influencing the achievement gap in American schools. Both US born blacks and immigrants from African and Afro-Caribbean countries make up the black student population, but the latter group generally outperforms the former. Using data collected from focus groups in Chicago Public Schools and the US census, this study begins to probe questions concerning overlooked attributions of the Achievement Gap. This study argues that the gap is influenced not simply by skin color, but intra-racial dynamics, stigma consciousness, and historical literacy