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.
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?
Do you know what a standard deviation is?
Why can’t all black students excel?
Why can't everyone be a brain surgeon?
Nobody claims that there’s not a curve for talent, both overall, and within racial groups—which answers both your questions.
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.
There are Whites and Black who are geniuses and Whites and Blacks who are idiots. IMHO, Black culture reinforces the notion that it’s cool to be an idiot. From what I am seeing from Generation Y, that is increasingly common among Whites.
The method of teaching reading was the key to beginning if dumbing down inner city students. Functional illiteracy took minority students back to the role of slave. Chicago set the pace and still lead the RACE to the top. Those who would destroy this Republic are now in control. Eugenics aka RACE is the key. Refocus on RACE,not as an academic goal but as an attempt to control population. Evil? You bet!!! Education has ever been the key to control. Lest we forget....
Every group is going to have a spread of highs, lows, and midranges. The only difference is the spread.
There are a lot of factors that impact educational outcomes for all students, regardless of race: the quality of teachers, the curriculum used, the educational philosophies, the amount of money available for resources in the classroom, the expectations for achievement, resources and exposure to educational materials in the home and community, etc. But the most important factor is the home. What support and influence do the parents and/or grandparents provide? What help do they give to their children? What expectations do they hold for them? I don't know about Condi Rice's background or Dr. Carson's, but I would guess that both had very strong influences in their childhood that helped them become successful. Sometimes a child will succeed despite a lack of support from home if they have a very positive influence such as a teacher or relative who takes a special interest in the child to encourage the student to do their best, but generally, it is the family that provides the bedrock for academic success. This is true regardless of whether the student is educated in the public, private, or home.
Most Black students are born into a disadvantaged situation to begin with since 7 out of every 10 Black children are born out of wedlock and the majority of those children continue to live in single parent homes.
Why can't all black students excel? I believe they can, but in so many instances modern Black American culture does not reinforce an expectation of excellence. In so many instances that expectation is replaced with an attitude of victimization. That cultural aspect is a big factor. Compare the cultural expectations of Asian American families, and the average outcome is vastly different.
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.
Bell Curve. Rice and Carson are top 1%. The article is discussing group performance.