Minding the Gap : a Rhetorical History of the Achievement
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2013 Minding the gap : a rhetorical history of the achievement gap Laura Elizabeth Jones Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Jones, Laura Elizabeth, "Minding the gap : a rhetorical history of the achievement gap" (2013). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3633. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3633 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. MINDING THE GAP: A RHETORICAL HISTORY OF THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of English by Laura Jones B.S., University of Colorado, 1995 M.S., Louisiana State University, 2010 August 2013 To the students of Glen Oaks, Broadmoor, SciAcademy, McDonough 35, and Bard Early College High Schools in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana ii Acknowledgements I am happily indebted to more people than I can name, particularly members of the Baton Rouge and New Orleans communities, where countless students, parents, faculty members and school leaders have taught and inspired me since I arrived here in 2000. I am happy to call this complicated and deeply beautiful community my home. Louisiana State University has made this work possible over six years of support, coursework, and collegiality for which I will always be grateful. The dissertation-year fellowship was instrumental in the completion of this project. The guidance and friendship of my advisor, Susan Weinstein, was among the reasons I returned to academics; thank you for helping me find my niche in English Education. Brooke Rollins offered the perfect balance of intellectual demands and cheerful support; her imprint runs throughout this work. Barbara Heifferon voiced her confidence in me at the times when I most needed it. Jenell Johnson, Petra Hendry, Lisa Delpit, Kaustav Roy, Pallavi Rastogi, Rick Moreland, Myriam Chancy, Stephanie Houston Grey, Lauren Coats, Dan Novak and Jerry Kennedy all provided instruction and kindness for which I am grateful. I feel lucky to have shared an office and many conversations with the likes of Kristi Melancon, Jessica Ketcham Weber, and Jennifer West, who paved a broad way for me in our department. The faculty and staff of the University Writing Program, including Christy Foreman, Martha Strohschein, and Valerie Hudson, energize and inspire me with their commitment to students and to excellence. iii I can’t imagine a better writing companion than Sybil Durand. Jaime Cantrell and Michael Griffin have shared their talent as scholars in ways that elevated my work. The hospitality and artistry of Anna West, including Monday night slumber parties, Tuesday afternoon poetry classes, and Friday evening writing workshops, has been a gift. James Claffey and Maureen Foley remain the best carpool companions in history. The periodic visits of Tina McCurdy, my lifelong friend, have renewed my creativity and energy; she is artist and muse, all in one. The always-gracious hospitality of the Centola family has included literal shelter from the storm. My early mentors and colleagues in education, who have since become dear friends, turned a teaching job into a joyful lifelong commitment. I remain in awe of their creativity, skill, and dedication to students: Cathy Lucas, Jennifer LoPiccolo, Shannon Carbon, Liz Masten, Rob LoPiccolo, Karn Engelsgjerd, Melissa Rouette, Marisa Robertson, Maia Heyck-Merlin and Sara Cotner, to name a few. My mother, Judy Hansen, has always been proud of me, which gives me more confidence than is perhaps merited, and emboldens me to take on projects such as this. My father, Richard Jones, instilled intellectual curiosity in me long ago. It remains the finest gift I have received. And, most of all, to my love, Deborah Centola. You make me profoundly happy. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................. vii Chapter 1 Minding the Gap: The Achievement Gap as Rhetorical Artifact ....................................... 1 Situating the Rhetorical Approach .......................................................................... 5 Situating Myself .................................................................................................... 12 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................. 17 Chapter 2 Defining the Gap: Segregationist Science and the “Negro Lag” ...................................... 24 The Birth of the Gap ............................................................................................. 26 The Rhetorical Tradition of Segregationist Science ............................................. 34 “Actual Facts:” the Ethos of Science and Conspiracy Rhetoric .......................... 36 Biological Determinism: Achievement and Ability ............................................. 44 The Logic of Degradation: “Downward Breeding” .............................................. 52 Perverse Twist or Inheritance? .............................................................................. 62 Chapter 3 Undermining the Gap: The Afro-American, William Dawson, Horace Mann Bond and Hobart Corning ................................................................................................................. 64 Stasis Theory ......................................................................................................... 66 Wholesale Rejection: William Dawson and the Afro-American .......................... 70 Questions of Definition: Horace Mann Bond and Hobart Corning ...................... 76 Parody and Hidden Polemic .................................................................................. 78 Interpretive Statistics and Fluid Intelligence ........................................................ 86 Chapter 4 Shifting the Appeal: Mainstream Newspaper Reports of the Gap .................................... 95 Replacing Cause with Blame .............................................................................. 100 Overdetermining Race ........................................................................................ 105 Social Determinism ............................................................................................. 109 Arguing Policy .................................................................................................... 111 Accepting the Logic of Degradation ................................................................... 113 Blackness and Disability ..................................................................................... 115 Accidents and Complete Reversals ..................................................................... 124 Chapter 5 The Twenty-First Century Gap: The 2000 Election and No Child Left Behind ............. 127 Establishing Exigency, Building Consensus: the Bush v Campaign’s Education Recession ........................................................... 135 The Gap Fixation: Obscuring Historical and Structural Inequities .................... 139 The Child-Centered Paradigm and the Politics of Representation ..................... 146 Investing in Students, Expecting Returns ........................................................... 154 Accountability: Blame and Bad Behavior .......................................................... 159 Conclusion The Future of the Gap: Rite, Rupture, and Resignification ............................................ 166 Rite of Assent ...................................................................................................... 168 Rupture and Resignification ............................................................................... 173 References ....................................................................................................................... 180 Vita .................................................................................................................................. 192 vi Abstract Minding the Gap: A Rhetorical History of the Achievement Gap arose as an inquiry into the rhetorical congestion around the phrase achievement gap in public discourse. Having been used in support of multiple, often competing, education agendas, the phrase seems versatile almost to the point of emptiness, and yet it seemingly retains its persuasive power. Examining the history of the phrase, I reveal that the notion of the achievement gap is rooted in the logic of segregation and the rhetoric of disability, and serves to construct students in ways that paradoxically undermine efforts to expand access to educational opportunity. Although achievement gap is most frequently invoked in the name of educational equity, I argue that its rhetorical force can be infelicitous, erecting