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
What is it that some long for that they claim western civilization is collapsing? Do they miss empire building? Slavery? Orgies? Blood sport in arena? formal aristocracies? Pagan Gods?
Your observations concur with mine in post 36. The most important factor in education is the home, not the race or socio-economic level of the student.
Inherently, no. Within our society, yes. Since the 60s we have subsidized the stupid to procreate. That drives down the mean, and shifts the low end lower.
The cure is to stop the subsidies, and start penalizing "baby mommas" for squirting out bastards she's entirely incapable of supporting or raising.
No argument there.
Wow, race based school hiring.
I noticed that, too. So they're admitting that the kids are racist--unable to connect with white teachers. Yet somehow this racism isn't a problem--it's OTHER people's racism.
We are talking about averages. It has long been true that Black and White IQs differ by about a standard deviation. However, there is more overlap in the two distributions (bell curves) than there is difference.
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never forget that Asian outperform whites by a significant amount, and that, more than anything else will make the 21rst century an Asian ascendry
sure. And, like the Romans and the Soviets, the greater you become, the more you absorb and diverse you become until you fall from the bloat.
Agreed. Success carries the seeds of its own destruction.(Do not forget the Brits, the greatest empire of all time.)
>> Thomas Carlyle noticed this in the 1840’s; “a race singularily deficient in self governance.”
I’ve followed Carlyle’s writings for years and never seen this one - do you have a reference for it?
And for those among us who think the internet is not left-biased and highly censored, try to find this quote by Frederick Douglass:
‘Everybody has asked the question ... “What shall we do with the Negro?” I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us! If the apples will not remain on the tree of their own strength, if they are worm-eaten at their core, if they are early ripe and disposed to fall, let them fall! I am not for tying them or fastening them on the tree in any way, except by nature’s plan, and if they will not stay there, let them fall. And if the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone!’
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