Excuse me, but did you take math?
The fact that the AVERAGE black student is, more or less, one standard deviation behind the AVERAGE white student does not rule out smart blacks or stupid whites.
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
Genetics. Have you ever wondered why much of black Africa hasn't ever showed much technological advancement?
"There is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our wanting to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so."
Disparities between races had been narrowing until about five years ago, data show, but the numbers have changed little since then.
Gee, I wonder what happened about five years ago? What possibly could have had such a major impact?
Obama gonna make my car payment! Ha Ha
Obama gonna pay my rent! Tee Hee
We just hit the Lotto, Obama gonna buy my groceries!
We is never gonna have to work cuz Obama done set us free!
Well, I never,
GtG
Notice the disconnect when they said that minorities generally do less well because they are generally poor...then a few sentences later they said that white poor kids out tested rich black kids by a wide margin?
Also, why do they never talk about asians when they talk about minorities? Aren’t asians even more minority than the minorities?
Excuse me, but did you take math?
The fact that the AVERAGE black student is, more or less, one standard deviation behind the AVERAGE white student does not rule out smart blacks or stupid whites.
Why can't all white students excel? Because they are not all excellent. Intelligence is normally distributed in the population and all the huffing and puffing in the world will not change that.
You can take a rich white child, give her all the advantages money can buy, and still end up with a woman dumb as a fencepost. See Caroline Kennedy.
right on the cuckoo bird strategy...just might be what is going on
Ding! Ding! Ding!
We have a winner.
The article never mentioned parental involvement.
Hmmmmmm I wonder why.
It’s CULTURE!!
Look at the study habits of Jews, Asians, Whites, and Blacks and you will find a better correlation of intellectual achievement.
I would really like to see the results of a study where kids of different races were set for equal amounts of study time and then tested.
Teaching begins at home, even if it is only a few minutes each night.
My granddaughter is in the third grade and reads at a 6-7th grade level, or higher, and speaks like an adult about politics, science, dinosaurs (she can name 30 of them), and I taught her about “blimps” last night (using a 1954 trading card collection/book to show her what they look like and what their stats were).
Right now she is reading Si Robertson’s book, “Si-Chology 101” and is loving it (as well as the show. Spongbob has had his day. Now it’s “Duck Dynasty”, Miss Kay, Si, Phil and the boys).
Pre-schools are good but education begins at home, the earlier the better.
Bell Curve. Rice and Carson are top 1%. The article is discussing group performance.
Reality:
noun
1. The world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.
synonyms: the real world, real life, actuality.
antonyms: fantasy
Use “Reality” in a sentence:
“Sometimes reality got in the way.”
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
You are absolutely correct. But so many just don't want to face reality. Too painful, I guess.
I am saying many blacks can excel given the right circumstances. And my math was called math.
Anyone interested in the subject should just do what dishonest liberals refuse to do: read the damn book.
Gee, but all of this is so at odds with what I observe in life on a daily basis. Yes, that’s sarcasm.
Partly the answer to be more educated is hard work.
They don’t say that, or that most adults don’t know enough to push their kids.
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