Posted on 12/04/2007 6:03:11 AM PST by yankeedame
ELITIST GIFTED PROGRAMS
The Seattle government school system received an outside review of its gifted education program. The results ... the district should "aggressively diversify its program" because it is "elitist."
Why is it considered elitist? Because three-quarters of the students enrolled in the gifted program are white. District wide, whites only make up 40% of the student population. This would mean that in an egalitarian world only 40 percent of the gifted students would be white. If the number is higher .. than there's a big problem.
Students are admitted into the program after testing in the 98th or 99th percentile nationally in cognitive ability and reading and math skills. Once students test in this percentile, they spend most of their government education with students of the same caliber.
Not good, according to the report. This is "perceived to be 'elitist, exclusionary and even racist.' Yes, racist. Can we please give that word a rest for a decade or so? You score in the 98th or 99th percentile .. and you get moved into the gifted program, no matter what your color. Now we're going to start calling accomplishment racist.
Even admission to the program is being considered "elitist" because it relies too much on a single test to determine aptitude. This is "unfair to low-income students and students without parental support."
There's a book out there I would like to recommend. It truly is an extraordinary read. The title is "In Defense of Elitism" by William A. Henry III. Henry, mind you, is a self-described card-carrying member of the ACLU and a registered Democrat. Here's your link ... order one for your favorite elitist today. Don't bother about me .. I've got my copy.
In the meantime ... stop the child abuse. Get your child out of government schools today.
Hear! Hear!
Political Correctness and enforced diversity are killing this country. It’s time for it to stop. Even the Dimocrats will have to realize that opportunity is the only thing that should be guaranteed in this grand experiment. Seems to me I read somewhere that a Supreme Court Justice (?) once was asked why he didn’t have more women clerks on his staff. His reply was that he didn’t hire women law clerks, he hired the best law clerks.
That’s the spirit we need to kindle, nurture, and protect.
I wasn’t at the meeting where this was discussed, but I was told by one of our deans it was decided our law review can’t be based solely on merit. It was stated, “If we did that, we’d never get any minorities on law review.”
Wow — though it doesn’t surprise me.
Also, when I was there, a black professor gave a final exam that was all multiple choice (IN LAW SCHOOL, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!)...but that’s not the point...
She worded most of the exam in eubonics and slang...she stated to the students that she was showing that regular exams given in the king’s english, so to speak, were culturally biased - and that her exam would be more fair to minorities...I am not making that up...
I was fortunate not to be in her class, but I had several friends who were. This was the typical law school class (Business Enterprises, I think) with one exam for the entire semester. Unreal.
Those advocating multiple criteria often want subjective criteria and subjective weighting. Subjectivity allows the admissions office to control the racial composition of the results. I am sure that the diversity minded admissions staff in the Seattle schools will alter admissions criteria to achieve their desired racial balance.
Agree 100%. Something tells me if the single-tiered, test- results-approach yielded a more “balanced” class, Seattle wouldn’t be worried about leaving behind poor test-taking, gifted kids.
In addition to improving our diversity amongst the student body, it appears (based on those we’ve been interviewing lately) a similar edict has been passed regarding new faculty hires. I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if we didn’t end up with a professor giving a similar exam here in the future.
My previous employer (the University of Kentucky) actually created a professor position that could only be filled by a minority. When I asked what this new faculty member would be teaching, no one could answer. It wasn’t even important; all that mattered was we had created a new chair that would allow us to diversify.
My comments are about the general standards of education here and not of the achievements of gifted students like your kids. The education systems in certain other countries, mainly in Asia, do have much higher expectations for their students than here.
And the ABA wonders why so many of us have refused to join...apparently, they haven’t figured out the whole Declaration of Independence thing, where everybody’s got the right to the PURSUIT of happiness, not a guarantee of non-merit-based advancement. It’s America, folks - you can go as far as your talent and gumption (lovely word, that) will take you.
I daresay 90% of the programs of the state and Federal gubermint are implemented to counter the absence of the parent. Wasn't the whole idea behind AFDC to enable the parent to raise the child and "be there?" same same for child support payments.
Good point. Athletics are really way overemphasized in public schools.
My previous employer (the University of Kentucky) actually created a professor position that could only be filled by a minority. When I asked what this new faculty member would be teaching, no one could answer. It wasn’t even important; all that mattered was we had created a new chair that would allow us to diversify.
________________________
Oh my. Not sure why that makes me feel very uncomfortable...but it does.
Before starting my own firm, I worked at a “big law” type place. There were several associates at the firm that were never going to be promoted to partner. No chance. Their work product was atrocious, they had bad attitudes, and their hours were low. But the firm would never fire them...I bet you can guess why.
That’s right...it’s about having liberty. Not the guarantee that the state will interfere in the lives of individuals to bring them all to status of equilibrium.
and they probably were saying it would make the poor or lazy student feel inferior.
And it’s SUCH fun dealing with lawyers like that who are on the other side of a suit. I don’t know which is more frustrating, the Rambo or the Do-Nothing. As my granddad used to say, “it’s like pushin’ a string”. Some of his other quotes, while colorful, are probably not appropriate...
Looks like he’s being tazed! Drop the knife!!!
The main thing that isn’t addressed here is that “cognitive abilities tests” are supposed to be just that, ability tests, not achievement tests. No matter what they call them, cognitive ability is IQ and IQ is not politically correct.
I never realized until recently that many tests, particularly those given in the past, were IQ tests of various sorts, like the SAT, ACT, NMSQT, etc. They have now changed many of the tests, so they are more achievement oriented because this is more “politically correct”.
There are websites where they show you how to convert scores on such tests to IQ. I only discovered these quite recently. There were three I took that when converted were quite close. These tests were not supposed to change much with coaching, but since coaching can help finish a test and help with test strategy, coaching can improve scores some. I was never coached, and no one even suggested to me that the tests were that important to the degree that I needed coaching. I guess it was because they were supposed to be ability tests, but now that I think about it, I could have improved my scores somewhat and been accepted at better colleges.
There is at least one person I know who scored just 15 points SAT V+M higher who went to an Ivy League college and has held high ranking positions with cable networks. Was I “tracked” at a lower level that this person for some reason? Could I have done much better? Sometimes I now wonder. But of course, I belong to no protected minority, so no one cares.
I agree. This isn’t an issue about race. The racial composition does indicate that there is possibly a problem in identifying gifted students though. I emphasize possibly. It only indicates a potential problem.
Ideally, a district should have a multi-criteria identification process, that identifies gifted students rather than high acheivers. It should be color blind, with the evaluation criteria being clear and unbiased.
You are exactly right. SAT and ACT are ability based and not acheivement based. This is why some students with AP classes and 4.0+ GPAs will sometimes receive low or average scores, while some with 2.5 GPAs will receive a perfect score. Some colleges admit more on ability, some admit more on acheivement. Some require both. Which one is more valuable is arguable either way.
It is the 2.5 GPA/1600 SAT students that gifted programs are attempting to identify, and channel into more effective learning. They are kids that have the potential to understand advanced level concepts, that most simply do not have. They can be tough to motivate, but it is really a shame to see many of them slip through the cracks. The 4.0/1100 SAT students are high acheivers, but are being educated to their potential, they really don’t need to be in gifted program.
“Seattle schools will alter admissions criteria to achieve their desired racial balance.”
That happens in many districts. However, giftedness in the general population comes from all races, income levels, and geographic areas. Most believe that a program like the one currently used in Seattle is a waste of money, because it only identifies those who are high acheivers, not those who are truly gifted.
Some kids who are gifted need to be identified through subjective methods rather than testing. There was a student in my district several years ago, who did poorly in school, and poorly on both acheivement tests. He was tremendously gifted at language and was writing 50-60 page stories, that were very good, by the time he was 8. He was identified through solely subjective methods, but truly needed a gifted program. He graduated with honors from Davidson, and is working for DOD in communications.
The problem with subjective measures isn’t that they are used, it is that they are used by those who are unable to use them correctly and effectively.
It’s my understanding that the SAT is not the same as it was many years ago, but has in fact, been “dumbed down”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.