ACT test results: Only 5% of black students 'fully ready' for college

AP via New York Post ^ | August 21, 2013 | AP

[theBuckwheat]

WASHINGTON — Just a quarter of this year's high school graduates who took the ACT tests have the reading, math, English and science skills they need to succeed in college or a career, according to data the testing company released Wednesday.

The numbers are even worse for black high school graduates: Only 5 percent are fully ready for life after high school.

The results, part of ACT's annual report, indicate thousands of students graduate from high schools without the knowledge necessary for the next steps in life. The data also show a downturn in overall student scores, although company officials attribute the slide to updated standards and more students taking the exams - including those with no intention of attending two- or four-year colleges.

[theBuckwheat]

Do the simple math: If it only costs $8,000 per year for public schooling (and in many districts it costs much more), then it costs about $100,000 to bring a single black student to the point they graduate high school and go on to enter college. But at 5% readiness, it costs $2 MILLION dollars to bring a single black student to be ready for college, ignoring how few black youth stay in school to even take the ACT let alone graduate. How can we bring ourselves to admit that the public school model is broken and dangerously so? Clearly, it is time for alternatives such as allowing parents to choose how they want their own children to be educated and where.

[Venturer]

The colleges do not care if they are ready or not as long as they can cough up the tuition, and as long as they can get that by getting a Gubmint loan.

[freebilly]

We new school...!

[Aevery_Freeman]

I tutor kids preparing for standardized test (ACT, MCA, ASVAB, etc.) and am amazed and appalled at how little knowledge and/or critical thinking skills have been imparted to our kids by an unbelievably expensive "educational" system - a system that helps to bankrupt local and state governments.

The millennial generation is not necessarily dumber than previous generation, just more poorly educated.

[JCBreckenridge]

Finally. Thank you. I noticed the same myself. I have since moved up the food chain, and not teach. Just being able to read and understand the questions puts your students at an advantage.

[bigdaddy45]

You’re exactly right. Colleges couldn’t care less. As long as the check clears.

[Fightin Whitey]

dey b ignant

[RFEngineer]

Entirely explainable by IQ.

approximately 50% of whites have an IQ of 100 or higher
approximately 5% of blacks have an IQ of 100 or higher.

There may be other factors at work, but if you do not have the IQ to grasp certain concepts, you’re out of luck whether you’re planning to go to college or not.

If the government tries to encourage some group to go to college anyway, one should not be surprised to see average intelligence become a factor in whether that population is found “fully ready for college”.

[UglyinLA]

I read that the math scores are slightly better.

Chicago teacher: Now kids, if I have ten bullets in my gun and I shoot a victim with three bullets, how many bullets do I have left ?
Kid in back holds up his hand: I know, I know !!
Teacher: Yes, Traybama, what is the answer.
Kid named Traybama: Five
Teacher: and why five Traybama?
Traybama: Juscuz last week forreal I needa bust five caps bae cuz my bad aim hit the mutha ass cracka only three times

[NotYourAverageDhimmi]

Every standardized test, every IQ test, and academic achievement averages always show this particular demographic trailing others regardless of the decade the results are from or the nation the results are from. Draw your own conclusions.

[ßuddaßudd]

otay, surely then we must ban handguns to level the playing field for them , , /sarc

[Iron Munro]

The millennial generation is not necessarily dumber than previous generation, just more poorly educated.

To this day I am still impressed at the quality and high level of education received in public high school by those I knew who graduated in the 1920's to 1940's - maybe even into the 1950's for some.

They graduated with a well rounded education and were much more prepared to enter life as adults than what I see as the accepted norm today.

There is a test floating around the net that is supposedly an 8th grade test from the 1800's. From my personal acquaintance with many who graduated in the first half of the 1900's I would say that test is probably reflective of the high level of their education.

Many I knew who are now either deceased or senior citizens could run circles around many young college grads of today in any serious academic subject. Compared to their present day counterparts, they had high level math, language and science skills, were well versed in history, government, the classics, etc.

But they were very weak on gender studies and the history of Islam and homosexualism.

[11th Commandment]

No doubt that this is true and the public colleges have adjusted the requirements. In Missouri, the math placement was determined by ACT and a placement test. English is determined by the ACT. I was also amazed by the amount of remedial math offered by colleges. When I went to school I can recall two math classes offer lower than College Algebra. In fact, if you need the lowest Math, my school recommended the community college. Now I see Math 99 offered.

It is all about the money for these schools. By offering High School Classes in College they get tuition. Then the kids who can't handle majors that actually have jobs prospects, they are herded to the Psychology and Sociology department. They graduate with little employment skills and mounds of debt paid for by the US Taxpayer.

[Trailerpark Badass]

Why should they?

They get an additional year of tuition-paid attendance tacked on to the front end for remedial classes, and use slave-labor grad students to teach it.

[animal172]

I’m surprised it is as high as 25%. Most young people I encounter don’t have enough sense to get in out of the rain. But, they do know a lot about their smartphones.

[umgud]

If we looked at school perfomance as a whole and removed blacks and latinos from the statistical mix, we’d see a far different picture. Whites, Jews, asians/orientals and Indians seem to be performing at least adequately.

I think we are seeing the result of shifting demographics.

[Wurlitzer]

Let me guess the root cause:

1) Poverty! So a bank account can increase/decrease IQ. Who outside of the race pimps knew?

2) Teachers not paid enough! Any teacher not performing to the best of their ability because of their pay should have been fired long ago. This cannot be tolerated.

3) No breakfast! Well we have stolen enough money from the producers and what has not been flushed down the Middle East toilet of sand monkeys should be sufficient to give the children food. Too bad their useless parents did not think about supporting them before they squirted out another one.

4) No fathers! This might have some merit but IMO it falls on the inferiority of certain groups to raise a family in today’s society.

5) Oh, and lets never forget the most important excuse, WHITE PEOPLE. You know those evil people who build a better society that allowed minorities an opportunity to advance should they not be too lazy to try. Well if you want to know what a world run by minorities looks like take a daytime trip to Detroit (just make sure you leave before the sun goes down).

Certainly nobody has the balls to say it might be certain groups are mostly at fault. Well I will.

Thanks to bHo, I no longer belong to the excuse merchants who will dance on the head of a pin trying to excuse every failure of a group which needs to look inward and stop blaming everyone else.

[CitizenUSA]

I don’t have any problem making general, factual statements about race. I’m not saying you’re guilty of this, but too many people seem to forget that even if blacks are generally less intelligent than whites (and whites less intelligent than Asians), there are still very intelligent blacks and stupid Asians.

I think conservatives generally treat people as individuals, while liberals tend to treat us as groups. I strongly oppose making any presuppositions about anyone based on race. It doesn’t matter, for example, if young black males are twice as likely to commit a violent crime (I don’t know the actual violent crime rate for them, but it’s higher than for whites). I wouldn’t treat a young black male poorly based on that unless he gave me indications he was violent.

That’s why I’d oppose profiling based solely on race. On the other hand, it’s nearly impossible to look solely at race anyway. Other factors, like dress and appearance, speech, and behavior do justify profiling. The left seems to want us to turn a blind eye to those other factors in their effort to stamp out profiling. They also like to silence anyone who dares bring up generalized facts about race that might reflect negatively, like blacks generally being less ready for college.

[Starstruck]

There is a test floating around the net that is supposedly an 8th grade test from the 1800's. From my personal acquaintance with many who graduated in the first half of the 1900's I would say that test is probably reflective of the high level of their education.

Many males finished their education at the 8th grade back in the early 20th century. They were needed to help provide income to the family. My dad completed the 8th grade in the early 30's and I would stack his knowledge up against most high school graduates today. Plus he had a ton of common sense which is sorely lacking in a lot of college grads.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Your statement assumes that someday they will be ready for college. That probably will never happen for 95% of them.