Exit exam results demonstrate California's two-tier school system

Sac Bee ^ | 10/02/02 | Dan Walters

[NormsRevenge]

Isn't it time to acknowledge that California, more or less by accident, has created a two-tier public education system, one that works pretty well for youngsters from relatively affluent, white and English-speaking families -- and most Asian Americans -- but abysmally fails for millions of other kids who don't meet those criteria?

[NormsRevenge]

DUMP DAVI$



GO SIMON

[EdReform]

Bump & Ping

[Drango]

As long as we're blaming Wilson...how about that scum Reagan?

[GOPJ]

"Pentagon says at least one US serviceman killed in bombing near Philippines "

Will Baghdad Bonior offer comfort to the men who killed this young serviceman, or maybe spit in the eye of the young man's mother? How about calling his Commander and Chief a liar? Come on creepy democrats, step up to the plate.

[Mo1]

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[Mr. Jeeves]

Isn't it time to acknowledge that California, more or less by accident, has created a two-tier public education system, one that works pretty well for youngsters from relatively affluent, white and English-speaking families -- and most Asian Americans -- but abysmally fails for millions of other kids who don't meet those criteria?

Some rewording is in order, Mr. Walters:

"Isn't it time to acknowledge that California, more or less because of cultural differences, has two types of public school students; those from relatively affluent, white and English-speaking families and most Asian Americans whose cultural bias is in favor of study and education -- -- and those from millions of other families who, due to their cultural backgrounds, abysmally fail to demand diligence and excellence from their children?"

[elfman2]

" If the exit exams counted now, only tiny percentages of African American and Latino students would win diplomas "

If the exit exams counted now, they probably would have been taken seriously. I remember blowing off aptitude tests, randomly checking answers, because they meant nothing.

[TMD]

only tiny percentages of African American and Latino students would win diplomas

Golly, back in the olden days,diplomas were earned through hard work and sacrifice on the part of both students and parents. The liberals in Kalifornia have brain-washed an entire generation into believing that anything that will improve their lives and that of their family should be given to them by either the state or federal government.

[tcostell]

I wouldn't be too concerned about the disparity. I'm sure that in no time, the teachers unions and educational establishment will have those affluent schools performing just as poorly as the lower income districts.

[Still Thinking]

This is why statewide funding is a bad idea. That it even raises the possibility of more soak-the-rich social engineering is unacceptable to me, whether it actually happens or not. If low income areas do badly, well, we must not have sufficiently looted the high income areas as yet. More income redistribution will solve the problem. If we have too much disparity in incomes, lets just punish those who have done well, until there is no longer any reason to do well. Then everyone will be the same. Voila, a workers' paradise!

[VOA]

The gaps between white students in affluent suburban districts and nonwhite
and/or non-English speaking students in poor inner city and rural districts were immense.

I guess Dan Walters must consider Asians as being "white". Thanks to their
pass rate of SEVENTY percent and the white pass rate of SIXTY-FIVE percent.
Walters DOESN'T DARE talk about how many Asians (and a fare number of whites) come out
of disadvantaged socio-economic environments...but make it any way.

[p. henry]

My recollection is that the CA Supreme Court ruled quite some time ago that public funding disparities among school districts are unconstitutional. Of course, that case challenged the ability of Beverly Hills, for example, to more fully fund its schools than a district in which property values are lower. How ironic if that decision were now to prevent the state from allocating proportionately more resources to be poured down the rathole of underperforming inner city schools. As a parent of a 9th grader attending a CA high school that had 27 national merit finalists last year but also has Algebra classes with more than 35 students, I'm certainly not in favor allocating even more resources away from students who actually study.

[BeAllYouCanBe]

"[snip]but the political fallout from having so many nonwhite youngsters fail would be immense."

OK, then make it fair at random fail white kids to make the numbers non-controversial and everything will be fine.

It is about equal opportunity not equal outcomes.

[Still Thinking]

OK, then make it fair at random fail white kids to make the numbers non-controversial and everything will be fine.

No, just have all the blacks and latinos list their race as white and all the whites and asians list theirs as black or latino. More black kids passing, less whites. To change a situation where blacks fare better that whites would obviously be racism, so it wouldn't be a "problem" anymore.

[heleny]

a two-tier public education system, one that works pretty well for youngsters from relatively affluent, white and English-speaking families -- and most Asian Americans -- but abysmally fails for millions of other kids who don't meet those criteria?

A new charter school on the UCSD campus, called the Preuss school, had a pretty high pass rate (comparable to La Jolla HS) even though children must qualify for the free lunch program to be admitted to this charter school. These poor, non-Asian minority race, disadvantaged children obviously can learn enough to pass the exit exam. The difference between these and other poor, minority race children is that these kids' parents cared enough to apply for a different school, so they probably care more about studying than other poor, non-Asian minority-race parents.

Since the exit exam is administered to 9th graders and is easy enough that they all should pass, what is the purpose of grades 10-12? Liberal indoctrination?

If half of 9th graders cannot read enough or do enough arithmetic and simple algebra to pass the exam, why were they allowed to get into high school? If we discontinue "social promotion" in the lower grades, then we can ensure that all high school students know enough to pass the exam.

[heleny]

just have all the blacks and latinos list their race as white and all the whites and asians list theirs as black or latino. More black kids passing, less whites.

Would Ward Connerly's Racial Privacy Initiative force the state to stop asking for each student's race on exam questionnaires?

[heleny]

Fewer than half of the high school students who took the second year of exams passed the English and math portions -- even though the required scores had been lowered sharply as a political gesture. Had the higher passing grades been maintained, it's likely that a third or fewer would have passed.

Mr. Governor, didn't you say that you raised test scores in during your term in office? Do you mean to say that you increased the number of passing students on the exit exams by simply lowering the standards?

Didn't you pull the same trick for measuring "failing schools" since the state did not have money to take over those schools that failed to improve evan after you pumped millions of dollars into them in exchange for the responsibility that they improve their test scores?

Come on, Davis. Stop lying to us about California's failed education record under your watch. Dump Davis!

[jiggyboy]

Indeed. What is now virtually the entire middle-school student body in CA suffered the abuse of the "whole language" scam during the years when they were supposed to be learning reading the "old-fashioned" (i.e., effective) way. Instead, they are noticeably crippled for life. The suggestion that half the students are performing well is good news by itself, and much better news than we have had for some years, and damn any alleged or (more likely) imagined disparities due to family income &c.

[ffrancone]

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[6ta60]

why is the state even looking at a students race?