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A Progressive Assault on Selective High Schools. Instead of fixing public education, the left tries to end testing at schools it deems inequitable.
Wall Street Journal ^ | November 25, 2020 | Chester Finn

Posted on 11/27/2020 5:24:27 AM PST by karpov

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has fired the latest salvo in America’s assault on meritocracy: a 61-page opinion holding that the suburban Loudoun County school system discriminated against black and Hispanic youngsters because its selective-admission high school, the Academies of Loudon, hadn’t admitted enough of them. Never mind that—as Mr. Herring acknowledged—the school’s test-based admissions process is open to all and fairly managed. Because its results have a “disparate impact,” the school system must scrap it.

Nationwide, selective-admission public schools, also known as “exam schools,” are under attack because the demographics of their student populations don’t match those of their communities. Much like elite universities, critics allege, these schools have been admitting far too many whites and Asians and not nearly enough blacks and Latinos.

The ruckus began in New York, where admission to nine of the city’s hundreds of high schools is governed by the eighth-grader’ scores on a specialized admission test. Topping the list are Stuyvesant and Bronx Science, and there’s no denying that they’re full of Asian and white kids, many from low-income and middle-class families. This has raised hackles for decades, but Mayor Bill de Blasio and his schools chancellor have recently pushed to make the admissions process more “equitable.” They want to reserve places for black and Latino children, abolish the entry exam, and instead admit top students from every middle school in the city.

But is every middle school churning out eighth-graders with the requisite skills and knowledge to succeed at Bronx Science? Are all children who make good grades eager, motivated learners ready to make the most of what these high-powered schools have to offer?

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; US: New York
KEYWORDS: arth; bellcurve; bidenvoters; deblasio; education; stuyvesant
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1 posted on 11/27/2020 5:24:27 AM PST by karpov
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To: karpov

“Equality = Equally Poor.” - Socialism.


2 posted on 11/27/2020 5:37:31 AM PST by Uncle Miltie (Biden: Senile, pedophile, grifter, extortionist, thief.)
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To: karpov

Busing used to be the great “equalizer”.


3 posted on 11/27/2020 5:40:26 AM PST by Rebelbase (A COVID misanthrope.)
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To: karpov

This is a real shame for *minorities* (as well as any other kid) that does the work to get into such a school and then only to be surrounded by inter-generational lazy asses. It eliminates competition. It eliminate reward. It eliminates the need to strive to be one of the best. That is unAmerican.


4 posted on 11/27/2020 5:41:02 AM PST by ConservativeInPA (The Republic is at a pivot point. Either you stand for freedom or die in slavery. )
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To: Uncle Miltie

What about sports teams based on merit? Must they now meet the same ratios as the community?


5 posted on 11/27/2020 5:41:32 AM PST by ActresponsiblyinVA
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To: karpov

Reject the Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations

https://educationpost.org/reject-the-soft-bigotry-of-low-expectations/


6 posted on 11/27/2020 5:46:31 AM PST by polymuser (A socialist is a communist without the power to take everything from their citizens...yet.)
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To: karpov
"selective-admission high school."

The left sure loves to change the language..

7 posted on 11/27/2020 5:52:35 AM PST by unread (A REPUBLIC..! If you can keep it....)
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To: unread

Isn’t Virginia communist, I mean Democrat now?


8 posted on 11/27/2020 6:01:38 AM PST by Colt1851Navy (What was wrong with Nixon?)
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To: karpov
"Instead of repairing the elementary and middle schools attended by poor and minority kids so that more of them will be prepared for places like Stuyvesant, and creating more such schools for bright children from every background to get a top-notch education, New York’s equity seekers are pressing to reallocate an extremely scarce resource."

Therein lies the problem with Socialism. Socialism simply doesn't work. The biggest key to reforming education is eliminating teacher's unions. In fact, it requires eliminating ALL public sector unions. Of course, it is these unions and their minions of ill educated graduates that form the front line of those pushing for socialism in the first place. WELL educated people do not advocate for socialism because history has proven that it doesn't work. Unfortunately, as the Left takes more and more control of the government, soon ALL will be ill-educated.

9 posted on 11/27/2020 6:04:18 AM PST by norwaypinesavage (Calm down and enjoy the ride, great things are happening for our country)
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To: karpov

The real agenda is that the wealthy, who send THEIR kids to elite private schools, do not want the kids of working and middle class kids being educated enough to compete with THEIR kids.


10 posted on 11/27/2020 6:09:05 AM PST by SauronOfMordor (A Leftist can't enjoy life unless they are controlling, hurting, or destroying others)
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To: karpov

All of this is predicated on a false assumption:

That IQ, ability, focus and drive are distributed equally and if the outcomes are “disparate” the ONLY explanation allowed is outright racism.


11 posted on 11/27/2020 6:10:26 AM PST by Bon of Babble (In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Baby!)
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To: norwaypinesavage

It is an article of faith among the Left, that if you give enough resources to black students, that they will perform as well as whites.

It is an act of blasphemy, which will get you burned at bv the stake, to suggest that there is a strong genetic component to ability, and that there are statistically very significant differences between groups.


12 posted on 11/27/2020 6:14:21 AM PST by SauronOfMordor (A Leftist can't enjoy life unless they are controlling, hurting, or destroying others)
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To: norwaypinesavage

To get increasing support for government, just have a large pool of people in power who know that the only reason they have well paying jobs, is because of government favoritism.


13 posted on 11/27/2020 6:17:07 AM PST by SauronOfMordor (A Leftist can't enjoy life unless they are controlling, hurting, or destroying others)
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To: SauronOfMordor

Keep everyone’s kid a moron.....Except mine...The great democrat-liberal cry of the 21st century


14 posted on 11/27/2020 6:21:24 AM PST by Hambone 1934 (We all know President Trump....A fighter to the end......)
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To: ConservativeInPA

This is about suburban communities not schools.Next they change the grading scale to no fail and teachers can’t assign homework.


15 posted on 11/27/2020 6:26:59 AM PST by cnsmom
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To: karpov

Most of our schools are zombies. Going through the motions but not actually teaching.

If we’re talking about a great reset, let’s reset education.


16 posted on 11/27/2020 6:48:18 AM PST by lurk ( )
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To: karpov

This is merely further lowering of standards as part of the decadence of Western Civilisation. Advocates of it would argue that serving the needs of the underprivileged is a high moral standard worthy of the lowering of other cultural standards; however, as civilisation continues to sink into the depths of decadence, all standards are lowered.


17 posted on 11/27/2020 6:51:57 AM PST by Savage Beast (May God reveal the truth for all the world to witness! May God save the USA!)
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To: SauronOfMordor

Here in NJ our schools spend much more per student in the urban sh!tholes than in suburbs or rural areas; by setting up special districts the state just makes the rest of the towns pay for them.

The genetic issue is put to rest by the success of people from some former Brisitsh colonies who perform as well as whites; it is a cultural, not genetic, problem.

When people accepted affirmative action in higher education and the workplace (and in the latter it spread from gubmint into the private sector under threat of lawsuits), then this step was inevitable. In every aspect of our lives we are to pretend unqualified, unskilled semi-literates are the equals of competent students/workers/etc.. The very government that requires we regard all people as equals sets these policies that indicate they don’t even believe their own mantra - and by implementing these policies they ensure those preferred groups will NEVER catch up. We’ll take their D-/F performance and pretend it’s A+...


18 posted on 11/27/2020 6:59:57 AM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Bon of Babble

All of this is predicated on a false assumption:

That IQ, ability, focus and drive are distributed equally and if the outcomes are “disparate” the ONLY explanation allowed is outright racism.


It’s that, but more. The complete failure of certain predicate schools to prepare the children even for an 8th grade competition adds in to that. I would expect that the different schools would have different ratios of children qualifying, if non-zero.

Failure of other schools to prepare children is not a reason to abandon standards.


19 posted on 11/27/2020 7:44:34 AM PST by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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To: SauronOfMordor

It is an article of faith among the Left, that if you give enough resources to black students, that they will perform as well as whites.

It is an act of blasphemy, which will get you burned at bv the stake, to suggest that there is a strong genetic component to ability, and that there are statistically very significant differences between groups.


There are certainly strong cultural components as well.


20 posted on 11/27/2020 7:45:35 AM PST by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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