Race and the Black-White Achievement Gap Myth, published in 2017, attempts to dispel the surreptitious myth that disparate achievement levels between Black and White students is due primarily to intrinsic intellectual and cultural failings of Black children and their parents. A compelling case is made for the ways in which systemic racism victimizes Black children through ubiquitous residential segregation, Apartheid Schooling, second generation school segregation, and the multitude of ways many educators manifest their deficit views of Black students and biased values. Drawing upon research and forty years of education experience, the author proposes a unique set of common sense solutions to narrowing the gap and improving academic performance in general; strategies he has used to close the gap between Black and White students in two New Jersey schools.
About the Author: Dr. Darrell A. Jackson is an educator, presenter, consultant, and writer whose present efforts focus on professional development of urban and suburban public school teachers and administrators. In the earlier phase of his career, Dr. Jackson taught Adult Basic Education at Trenton State Prison and trained teachers to work in corrections as part of the Montclair State College Corrections project. He is a certified science teacher and school administrator who also taught science for seven years prior to entering public school administration. His public school career culminated with ten years as principal. Dr. Jackson retired from public education in 2006 to devote full attention to writing and training other educators in student achievement strategies. Dr. Jackson earned a Bachelors Degree in science education from Trenton State College and an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Montclair State College. He received his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Rutgers University's Graduate School of Education in New Brunswick. Empowered by fond memories of his childhood days living in Robeson Village in New Brunswick, Dr. Jackson's passion lies in eliminating America's Black-White achievement gap by improving academic opportunities for poor and minority children. His latest publication, Race and the Black-White Achievement Gap Myth, attacks the gap by very succinctly dispelling the surreptitious notion that learning and test score disparities are due primarily to the failings of Black children. Buoyed by Dr. Jackson's experiences and accepted research findings, the book proposes a unique set of positive assumptions about minority students that belie the widespread stereotypical, deficit view of Black children.