White and Asian students continue to do better on tests than black and Latino students, says the U.S. Department of Education.
美国教育部门表示，白人和亚裔学生在考试上还是比黑人以及拉丁裔学生考得更好。
This information, which comes from the government's 2015 Nation's Report Card, shows a long-lasting education gap between racial groups in the United States.
来自于美国政府2015年全国成绩单的这一信息表明美国族群之间存在长期持久的教育差距。
Here are two examples from the 2015 Nation's Report Card:
以下是来自2015年全国成绩单的两个例子：
In 2015, white students scored 32 points higher than black students on mathematics tests, on average.
2015年白人学生数学考试的平均成绩比黑人学生高出32分。
In 2015, white students scored 26 points higher than black students on reading tests, on average.
在2015年白人学生阅读考试的平均成绩比黑人学生高出26分。
Both examples show the scores of Grade 8 students. Grade 8 is the year before students begin high school in the US.
两个例子都展示了八年级学生的分数。在美国，八年级是学生进入高中前的最后一年。
Why do White and Asian students do better on tests?
为什么白人和亚裔学生考得更好呢？
Marcelo Suarez-Orozco is an education professor at the University of California-Los Angeles. She says that Latino and black students face challenges that prevent them from excelling.
马塞洛·苏亚雷斯·奥罗斯科（Marcelo Suarez-Orozco）是加州大学洛杉矶分校的一位教育学教授。她说，拉丁裔和黑人学生面临着各种阻止他们表现出色的挑战。
"Both Latino children and African American children are once again attending schools that are highly segregated. They are highly segregated by race, by poverty, by language by legal status," said Suarez-Orozco.
她说，“拉丁裔儿童和非洲裔儿童再次就读高度隔离的学校。他们被种族、贫穷、语言和法律地位高度隔离。”
One reason is classroom attendance in primary and secondary school. As students miss more classes, they become less likely to score well on tests and graduate from high school.
原因之一是小学和中学的课堂出勤率。学生们错过越多课程，他们就越不可能在考试中考得高分并从高中毕业。
In general, students from low-income families in the U.S. are more likely to miss class because of health problems, such as asthma and tooth decay. Transportation problems and difficult home environments are other factors.
一般来说，美国低收入家庭的学生更容易因为哮喘和龋齿等健康问题缺课。其它因素还包括交通问题和家境困难。
Black and Hispanic students in many regions are more likely to miss classes than white students, says a report from Attendance Works, a non-profit organization.
根据非盈利性组织出勤研究室（Attendance Works）的一份报告，很多地区的黑人和西班牙裔学生比白人学生更可能缺课。
The Achievement Gap
成绩差距
Poverty, language, legal status and race are all factors that contribute to an achievement gap that continues into college, says Ken O'Donnell, California State University's Senior Director of Student Engagement.
加州州立大学学生参与度部门高级总监肯·奥唐奈（Ken O'Donnell）表示，贫穷、语言、法律地位和种族都是一直持续到大学并造成成绩差距的因素。
If a student is the first person in their family to go to college, they face many difficulties. They do not have the same support that other students might have, says O'Donnell.
奥唐奈表示，如果一名学生是这个家庭第一位上大学的人，他们会面临很多困难。他们没有其他学生可能拥有的那些支持。
The achievement gap, explains O'Donnell, can have serious effects.
奥唐奈解释说，成绩差距会造成严重影响。
Students who are not prepared for college are more likely to leave school. Or they might take longer to graduate. This means that they will receive the benefits of a college degree late – or perhaps never.
未做好上大学准备的学生更可能辍学。或者他们需要更长时间才能毕业。这意味着他们会更晚，或许可能永远无法从大学学位中得到好处。
International perspectives on the achievement gap
成绩差距问题上的国际视角
The achievement gap is not only a problem in the U.S. In many countries, some groups do not perform as well as others. Finland is considered by many to have the best education system in the world. But it, too, has problems with the achievement gap.
成绩差距并非美国独有的问题。在很多国家，一些群体表现不如其他群体。很多人认为芬兰拥有全球最好的教育体系，但是该国也存在成绩差距问题。
The Economic Policy Institute released a report in 2013. It found that in Finland, low-income students score higher than low-income students in the U.S. on the PISA test.
经济政策研究所于2013年发布了一份报告。该报告发现，芬兰低收入家庭的学生在PISA考试中比美国低收入家庭的学生考得更好。
However, from 2000 to 2009, low-income Finnish students' scores went down. During the same period, low-income US students' scores went up. In other words, Finland is starting to have problems educating low-income students.
然而，从2000年到2009年，芬兰低收入家庭学生成绩有所下降。在同一时期，美国低收入家庭学生的分数有所提高。换句话说，芬兰开始面临教育低收入家庭学生的问题。
How to Fix the Problem?
如何解决这一问题呢？
For now, some schools are better than others at preparing students for college. At Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, teachers talk about college as soon as students start high school.
目前一些学校比另一些学校更加擅长为学生做好上大学的准备。在哈伯教师预科学院，教师们在学生们一上高中就开始谈及大学。
Teachers try to build the confidence of students. And they try to help students on an individual basis, says Principal Jan Murata.
教师们试图建立学生们的信心。该校校长简·穆拉塔（Jan Murata）表示，他们试图根据个人根基帮助学生们。
"Unless you reach that child and show that you care and get the students there and believe in them, then it makes it really difficult," said Murata.
穆拉塔表示，“除非你接近学生，表明你的关心，让学生们获得成功并信任他们。这非常困难。”
Another way to help students is to help their parents. Mark Gaither, a principal at a primary school in Baltimore, allows parents to come to the school's library every Monday. There, parents can learn how to help students with homework, check out books and get comfortable in the school environment.
另一种帮助学生们的办法是帮助他们的父母。巴尔的摩一所小学的校长马克·盖瑟（Mark Gaither）每周一让家长们来到学校的图书馆。家长们在这里可以学习到如何帮助学生们完成家庭作业，借出书籍并适应学校环境。
For many of today's teachers, UCLA's Suarez-Orozco says reaching students means understanding the cultural, language and economic difficulties they face.
加州大学洛杉矶分校的奥罗斯科表示，对现如今的许多教师来说，接近学生意味着理解他们面临的文化、语言和经济困难。
"So knowing your students, knowing where they are coming from, knowing their communities, [are important]" he said.
他说，“因此了解你的学生，了解他们来自哪里，了解他们的社区都非常重要。”
In October, the Obama Administration began a program to combat the problem of students missing school. The effort is called "Every Student, Every Day." Its goal is to identify and help students who miss around 18 days, or 10 percent, of school days in a school year.
十月份，奥巴马政府开启了一项减轻学生旷课问题的项目。该措施被称之为“每名学生,每一天”(Every Student, Every Day)。其目标是发现和帮助每学年缺课18天或10%学时的学生。
Through the "Every Student, Every Day" program, the departments of Education, Health and Human Services and Justice, among others, will work with local and state governments to stop students from missing too much school.
通过“每名学生,每一天”项目，教育、卫生、公共事业和司法部门连同其它部门将同当地和州政府合作，防止学生们过多缺课。
Only time will tell how successful this program will be.
该项目成效如何只有等待时间证明。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)