I learned this last year in Tanzania when I
was reversely discriminized against, assuming since I was white, I had money,
but that pales in comparison to what I heard yesterday, something that
absolutely implored me and made me seething. Carver Elementary, the school
where Soundscapes is located, just lost their accreditation and is now lowering
their standardized test passing rates according to race. That’s right ladies
and gentleman, the students are assessed on if they pass/fail by the color of
their skin (ARE WE NOT IN 20!2?!?!?!!?!?)
If that doesn’t exacerbate the reasons why
standardized tests should cease immediately! Standardized tests are a horrible
way to assess children. Not only do they only cater to one learning style, only
assess one type of learning, don’t account for students who don’t test well,
nor are evaluated for the least important audience (someone that is not in the
classroom), they also require schools to not care about the student’s learning
and do anything including preposterous motions like the one above, to continue
receiving federal funding. This is at a school where a high majority of the
teachers and principal are African Americans themselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you
have even one inkling of pride, HOW THE HELL can you belittle your race to a
32%?!?!?! You may as well How can you ay poor people and people who speak more
than one language (which I assure you the people who passed this measure do
not!) don’t have the same capacity as students born into more affluent and
white families?! I don’t usually swear on this blog to keep a professional
tone, but that is absolute BULL SHIT!
In order to make more children pass, they
are lowering standardized test passing rates to match the student’s
race/economic status. Asians must receive an 82% to pass, whites 68%, and
African Americans, impoverished, special needs, and English as a second
language students, 32%. 32%...Let me remind you that is half of an F and that
is a 50% difference between Asians and the lowest category. Aside from the
ostentatious discrimination and pejorative behavior being exhibited, if the goal is to increase academic
achievement, justify how lowering expectations will help. All that is doing is
reinforcing the entrenched poverty and hierarchy of society, discouraging
belief in self, and reversing the civil rights for which our country strived!
It is not bettering anyone, in any capacity of the word, which call me a
lunatic, I thought was the goal of education!!!!!!!!!!!
We’ve discussed motivation and engagement
being the essential components to academic success. If you remove the reason
for drive, motivation, AND excellence, especially from an early age of 3rd
grade when these tests begin, children will not strive to work hard, and issues
like high school dropout will continue to increase, college will be
unattainable, and drugs, teen pregnancies, alcohol, gangs, and crime will
pervade.
An even worse part about this measure? Parents
are unaware (GO FIGURE!) and this isn’t the only state to have such a measure.
Florida, XXX, do too. How is this the first time I’ve heard of this? We need
action FAST. While music is an incredibly beneficial tool to increase
engagement and motivation along with many other life skills (discipline, self
esteem, team work, hard work, etc etc), if we don’t have high expectations for
children, there will be severe repercussions.
The Chula Vista School District has been
transformed the past seven years from a struggling school to one of recognition
and success. The superintendent John Nelson gave me a recipe for academic
success:
1)
High expectations
2)
Transparency of data
3)
Professional development for
teachers/principal
4)
Culture of accountability
5)
Goal of continuous improvement
6)
Collaboration between
teachers/administration
A common theme resonates in the above:
Improving the learners by working together, accepting where they are currently,
and holding each other accountable to improve. Virginia isn’t meeting ANY of
those. If those of us are truly concerned about Science, Technology,
Mathematics and Engineering (STEM) and are worried about China surpassing us
(if it hasn’t already), how is lowering expectations going to achieve this?
Comments welcome.
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