The Relevance of Critical Race Theory: Impact on Students of Color

The prevalence of race and racism can be found throughout the U.S. educational system. Although there have been many historical attempts to even the playing field for marginalized students, the attempts have had questionable effectiveness. The fact that students who come from marginalized groups based on race, sexuality, social and economic factors, have more negative experiences in the education system than White students. Many of these students are found more in special education programs, are under-represented in programs for gifted and talented students, lack basic resources, have high dropout rates and low academic outcomes. Critical Race Theory (CRT) provides many tools to help educators take to social justice activism, in order to create an environment that demonstrates that learning is valued for all students and ensures that all students are given an equal opportunity to obtain a quality educatio