Posted on 09/23/2013 4:25:56 PM PDT by Altura Ct.
Even if they come from affluent families or attend highly rated schools, black students in Ohio continue to lag far behind their white peers in school, according to a Dispatch analysis of data from state standardized exams.
On more than two dozen state tests given to students in kindergarten through high school last year, the average passage rate among black students was 64 percent. On average, 87 percent of white students passed.
Disparities between races have existed across the country since schools were physically divided by race, researchers say, but many now view those gaps largely as a product of high poverty among minorities.
In Ohio, though, wide race gaps persist even on a level economic field.
Average passing rates among affluent white students last year topped those of affluent black students by 16 percentage points. Poor, white students outperformed black students from poor and wealthy families.
Disparities between races had been narrowing until about five years ago, data show, but the numbers have changed little since then. Now, amid a renewed focus on the topic, schools face increasing pressure to close gaps.
New state report cards penalized schools this year if certain student groups, including racial minorities, didn’t improve enough over a year. Schools that have long earned high overall marks received D’s and F’s in that area.
At the same time, parents of black students have formed groups in their districts to advocate for minority children. Groups in Westerville, Dublin and Olentangy schools have gathered steam in recent years.
“There are clearly divisions along ethnic lines within the district,” said Vaughn Bell, a Westerville parent who revived a defunct group for black parents last year. “I do believe that schools are failing our African-American students.”
Racial disparities go beyond income, experts say, but wealth plays a role.
The poverty rate among blacks in the U.S. –– 25.8 percent, according to Census data –– is higher than any other race except Native Americans. Poor families, in turn, more often face lower-quality preschool options, researchers say.
“These gaps are traceable back to early-childhood education,” said Shaun Harper, the director of the University of Pennsylvania Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education. “If kids show up in kindergarten not having had high-quality instruction in preschool, they’re already starting behind.”
Coupled with teachers who lack the training to help, gaps remain, Harper said.
Beyond poverty, though, some say schools set the bar too low for minorities.
“We expect less of our low-income students and students of color,” said Natasha Ushomirsky, senior data and policy analyst for Education Trust, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit group that works to close achievement gaps.
Studies have found that black and Latino students are less likely to be placed in advanced courses, even if they show promise in a subject. Minority students are also more likely to be taught by less-experienced teachers.
“Our school system is set up in a way that makes these gaps worse rather than making them better,” Ushomirsky said.
Where students live is as important as family income in Ohio, said Damon Asbury, legislative director for the Ohio School Boards Association. Minorities are more likely to live in high concentrations of poverty, he said, while poor, white students might live in safer areas with more public resources.
“All people can learn,” Asbury said. “It’s not the individual; it’s the circumstances they often find themselves in.”
The consequences of achievement gaps can be crushing.
For example, 61 percent of black students in Ohio pass the third-grade reading test, compared with 87 percent of white students.
That’s important because one study found that students who don’t read proficiently by third grade are four times less likely to graduate by age 19. It’s 19 times less likely for poor students who don’t read well by third grade.
“There are huge personal ramifications to the students themselves,” Ushomirsky said. “Too many kids are either not graduating high school at all, or they’re graduating not prepared to do what they want to do next.”
Some of the widest gaps in Ohio are in urban schools, which have long struggled to improve scores among large minority populations.
In 2010, less than 5 percent of black students passed the Ohio third-grade reading exam at Lincoln Park Elementary, a majority black school at the time. More than 70 percent of white students at the Columbus school passed.
But even in suburban districts, including Dublin, Worthington and Westerville, there are schools where whites routinely outperform blacks by wide margins.
Some schools have added more minority teachers, which parents are lobbying for in Westerville.
“The overwhelming number of teachers are white; they connect better with white students than minority students,” said Bell, of the parent group.
McVay Elementary School in Westerville has had some of the widest gaps in third-grade reading proficiency between black and white students for the past five years. The smallest gap in that period was 20 percentage points.
“When you’re talking about a racial gap, it’s a pretty uncomfortable subject,” Principal Amy Miller said. “But you have to just say, ‘This is our data and it’s telling us something matters here, and we need to figure out what to do about it.’ ”
This year, teachers at McVay are working to pinpoint more quickly where individual students –– not groups –– need help. That approach helped at nearby Annehurst Elementary, which the state has honored for closing gaps.
McVay also added a reading specialist to help students, and the school is focusing on third-grade reading. Teachers, too, are having open discussions about race and breaking down preconceived notions. Miller believes that those changes will help.
Ultimately, though, there is no magic bullet.
Some experts such as Ushomirsky argue for school-level solutions, such as pairing top teachers with low-performing students. Harper says governments need to invest more in minority neighborhoods. Both agree that the stakes are clear.
“If we don’t do something about these inequities, the long-term consequences for our economy are enormous,” Harper said. “Inevitably we will see more poverty, more crime and so on.” cbinkley@dispatch.com
Biology is destiny.
Then how do you explain people like Condi Rice (I don’t agree with her on a lot of things but she is very smart) and Dr. Ben Carson? Why can’t all black students excel?
Mustn’t.........speak..........truth.........
The biggest problem with blacks and education is that most blacks think getting an education is being “white”
Their own racism keeps them down
Cotton plantation owners did not import Africans for their IQ.
The problem is easily solved. You make the standardized tests so easy that everyone passes. 100% of Whites. 100% of Blacks. No gap.
And I suspect that this is what they are already doing, slowly but surely.
I would say that expectation is destiny. There are blacks who excel....you only have to look as far as Jeopardy last year, when black men won both the Tournament of Champions and Teenage Jeopardy.
Even though average IQ socres are lower for some ethnic and racial groups than they are for others, that in no way means they should be held to lower standards. A certain percentage of minority students will excel if expected to do so.
Read “The Bell Curve” from cover to cove yourself.
Learn what one full standard deviation is in statistics.
This is not foolproof, as children will live down to any low expectation you set for them.
Do you know what a standard deviation is?
Why can’t all black students excel?
Why can't everyone be a brain surgeon?
Too many black kids think that their career should be as a drug dealer in the hood.
They don’t think past that.
" .. If we don’t do something about these inequities, ...
WHAT do you propose to DO?
You've tried money ... segregation .. integration .. separation .. elevation ..
You've tried to systematically re-engineer society and you've witnessed to congress ad-infinitum.
You've had laws passed, rules made, regulations enforced ...
THERE'S NOTHING LEFT FOR YOU TO ..
DO.
face it shauny ... some animals are more equal than others
Okay, not all black students but a whole lot more. Are blacks really less intelligent than whites? If so, why?
Nobody claims that there’s not a curve for talent, both overall, and within racial groups—which answers both your questions.
“These gaps are traceable back to early-childhood education,” said Shaun Harper, the director of the University of Pennsylvania Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education. “If kids show up in kindergarten not having had high-quality instruction in preschool, they’re already starting behind.”
Complete and utter BS.
A recent government research program showed that early education, in the form of intensive teaching Head Start classes had no significant effect on academic performance of minorities past the second or third grade.
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