Posted on 02/27/2007 7:49:23 AM PST by SmithL
With schools under increasing pressure to improve test scores, Mount Diablo High School has resorted to a new way to motivate students: by race.
The Concord campus on Friday held separate assemblies for students of different ethnicities to talk about last year's test results and the upcoming slew of state exams this spring.
Jazz music and pictures of Martin Luther King greeted African-American students, whereas Filipino, Asian and Pacific Islander students saw flags of their foreign homelands on the walls. Latinos and white students each attended their own events, too, complete with statistics showing results for all ethnicities and grade level.
"They started off by saying jokingly, 'What up, white people,'" said freshman Megan Wiley, 14. Teachers flashed last year's test scores and told the white crowd of students to do better for the sake of their people.
"They got into, 'You should be proud of your race,'" Wiley said. "It was just weird."
Several parents later told the Times that the meetings smacked of segregation resurrected.
"Why did they have to divide the students by race?" said Filipino parent Claddy Dennis, mother of freshman Schenlly Dennis. "In this country, everybody is supposed to be treated equally. It sounds like racism to me."
Principal Bev Hansen said she held the student assemblies by ethnicity this year and last year to avoid one group harassing another based on their test scores. The 1,600-student campus, one of the most ethnically diverse high schools in the Mt. Diablo school district, is roughly half Latino, 30 percent white and 15 percent black, with Asian nationalities rounding out the mix.
Last year, the school improved its academic performance index score, largely based on test scores, to 613 out of 1,000. Among the races, Asians scored highest. Whites earned a 667. African-Americans scored a 580, whereas Latinos earned a 571.
"I don't want students being teased," Hansen said.
Ultimately, however, Hansen said she did not know why parents seemed so concerned. The state has reported scores based on race for years. The school assemblies simply reflected those same categories in reporting the numbers to students, she said.
"In this country, race is a very uncomfortable topic, and it's time we got over it," Hansen said.
Jack Jennings, president of the National Center on Education Policy, a leading education research group, called the racially divided meetings potentially illegal and dangerous.
"It's segregation by race, whatever the motivation," Jennings said, noting that he had never heard before of a school or district doing such a thing.
He described the assemblies as a unique byproduct of the intense focus on testing.
Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, schools, school districts and states must report and are accountable for scores in reading and math for specific races, English learners, special-education students and economically disadvantaged students. All statistically significant groups must show continuous test score improvement.
"It shows that there's so much pressure to raise test scores that teachers and administrators are trying to do anything they can," Jennings said. "Sometimes what they choose is not very wise."
Last spring, California High School in the San Ramon Valley pulled Latino and black students in for pretesting pep talks but not white students. The principal apologized after parents flooded the mayor's office with complaints.
Mount Diablo sophomore Hector Rivera, 15, said he enjoyed the speakers at his Latino student assembly.
"The way they were speaking, it was intended to make people feel good," Rivera said. "I guess it was to inspire everybody, like you can do better."
Hispanic students made a 50-point gain on the state's 1,000-point achievement scale. White students improved by 46 points, whereas English learners posted the greatest rise, more than 80 points.
"There's nothing negative about these assemblies," said school secretary Arnetta Jones, who is African-American and helped organize the assembly for African-American students. "It wasn't, in any way, to put people down."
African-American students raised their score on the state academic performance index by 61 points. "We showed an incredible amount of improvement on our test scores," Jones said.
The event also celebrated black culture, Jones said. Two students performed a dance with choreography by African-American dance visionary Alvin Ailey. A black pastor from Bay Point delivered a message. One student read a poem that is the mantra of a black fraternity from UC Berkeley.
"That kind of set the tone," Jones said.
However, some African-American students interpreted the school's messages differently.
Freshman Jason Lockett, 14, said he saw the pictures of Martin Luther King and the words, "Black Power" projected overhead. But the scores, despite being an increase over last year, still lag other races'.
"It was to compare us and say how much dumber we were than everybody else," Lockett said.
Principal Hansen said although some students were upset, they deserve to know the truth about lower test scores.
"We need help in closing the achievement gap," Hansen said. "This is one tiny step."
Anger over Cal High pep talks for black, Latino students
Contra Costa Times ^ | 5/5/6 | Eric Louie
Posted on 05/05/2006 7:41:05 AM PDT by SmithL
Pre-test pep talks that singled out black and Latino students at California High School have angered some parents and resulted in apologies from the principal.
ala Liberal Segregation
Wonder what the Asians' saverage score was ... and why it's not reported?
This is yet another example of left wing racism.
I don't know how they can get away with telling a group of whites to be proud of their race. That's obviously racist. But the kids would know that it's a joke, since they have been told all through school that white people are to blame for all the troubles of the world.
Absolutely. The left wants the African Americans to remain on their plantation. If they were to escape the left wing propaganda machine, the democrats would lose the black vote.
Ahhhh, I computed it myself.
Using the rough population statistics provided, the school population is about 5% Asian.
Based on the other scores and percentages, the Asian average works out to a score of 808!!!!
No wonder they didn't print that.
Given all the nonsense that goes in in the educational establishment, it's amazing that American young people get along as well as they do.
Close ... I computed 808.
Outrageous!
"Hey, kids! Remember all that crap we taught you about cooperation instead of competition? Well, guess what. This is competition time. Sink or swim baby. You against all those other kids. Dog eat dog. The only thing that matters is a big number on that piece of paper. And it is only good to get you in the front door of a university, if you're good. If you're not, then it's 'You want fries that that, sir?' for the rest of your life."
"Welcome to reality."
Public education: perpetuating the cycle of racism for a new generation.
For the sake of the teachers union is more like it.
Those little brats are making them look bad. It has to stop and stop right now. Who cares if they end up in a racial war? As long as the test scores go up, what's a few dead kids? They're a dime a dozen, right?
"Teacher Power". That's what it's all about.
Kalifornia...what kan you xpect???
I married an Asian. Do I get my own category?
My kids are white, but tan well every summer. They're screwed, right?
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