Fwd: ethnically segregated test prep rallies

[Susan Harman <susanharman@igc.org>]

Begin forwarded message:

  From: Peter Farruggio <pfarr@CAL.BERKELEY.EDU>

  Date: Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:15:29 AM US/Pacific

  To: ELLADVOC@asu.edu

  Subject: ethnically segregated test prep rallies

  Reply-To: Peter Farruggio <pfarr@CAL.BERKELEY.EDU>

  A logical outcome of the big business program for US public education (high
  stakes accountability): competition vs cooperation...

  Academic pep talks are color coded. With schools under increasing pressure to
  improve test scores, Mount Diablo High School has resorted to a new way to
  motivate students: by race. The Concord campus on Friday held separate
  assemblies for students of different ethnicities to talk about last year's
  test results and the upcoming slew of state exams this spring.

  The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time:

  http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/16792877.htm

  Academic pep talks are color coded

  By Shirley Dang

  CONTRA COSTA TIMES

  With schools under increasing pressure to improve test scores, Mount Diablo
  High School has resorted to a new way to motivate students: by race.

  The Concord campus on Friday held separate assemblies for students of
  different ethnicities to talk about last year's test results and the upcoming
  slew of state exams this spring.

  Jazz music and pictures of Martin Luther King greeted African-American
  students, whereas Filipino, Asian and Pacific Islander students saw flags of
  their foreign homelands on the walls. Latinos and white students each
  attended their own events, too, complete with statistics showing results for
  all ethnicities and grade level.

  "They started off by saying jokingly, 'What up, white people,'" said freshman
  Megan Wiley, 14. Teachers flashed last year's test scores and told the white
  crowd of students to do better for the sake of their people.

  "They got into, 'You should be proud of your race,'" Wiley said. "It was just
  weird."

  Several parents later told the Times that the meetings smacked of segregation
  resurrected.

  "Why did they have to divide the students by race?" said Filipino parent
  Claddy Dennis, mother of freshman Schenlly Dennis. "In this country,
  everybody is supposed to be treated equally. It sounds like racism to me."

  Principal Bev Hansen said she held the student assemblies by ethnicity this
  year and last year to avoid one group harassing another based on their test
  scores. The 1,600-student campus, one of the most ethnically diverse high
  schools in the Mt. Diablo school district, is roughly half Latino, 30 percent
  white and 15 percent black, with Asian nationalities rounding out the mix.

  Last year, the school improved its academic performance index score, largely
  based on test scores, to 613 out of 1,000. Among the races, Asians scored
  highest. Whites earned a 667. African-Americans scored a 580, whereas Latinos
  earned a 571.

  "I don't want students being teased," Hansen said.

  Ultimately, however, Hansen said she did not know why parents seemed so
  concerned. The state has reported scores based on race for years. The school
  assemblies simply reflected those same categories in reporting the numbers to
  students, she said.

  "In this country, race is a very uncomfortable topic, and it's time we got
  over it," Hansen said.

  Jack Jennings, president of the National Center on Education Policy, a
  leading education research group, called the racially divided meetings
  potentially illegal and dangerous.

  "It's segregation by race, whatever the motivation," Jennings said, noting
  that he had never heard before of a school or district doing such a thing.

  He described the assemblies as a unique byproduct of the intense focus on
  testing.

  Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, schools, school districts and
  states must report and are accountable for scores in reading and math for
  specific races, English learners, special-education students and economically
  disadvantaged students. All statistically significant groups must show
  continuous test score improvement.

  "It shows that there's so much pressure to raise test scores that teachers
  and administrators are trying to do anything they can," Jennings said.
  "Sometimes what they choose is not very wise."

  Last spring, California High School in the San Ramon Valley pulled Latino and
  black students in for pretesting pep talks but not white students. The
  principal apologized after parents flooded the mayor's office with
  complaints.

  Mount Diablo sophomore Hector Rivera, 15, said he enjoyed the speakers at his
  Latino student assembly.

  "The way they were speaking, it was intended to make people feel good,"
  Rivera said. "I guess it was to inspire everybody, like you can do better."

  Hispanic students made a 50-point gain on the state's 1,000-point achievement
  scale. White students improved by 46 points, whereas English learners posted
  the greatest rise, more than 80 points.

  "There's nothing negative about these assemblies," said school secretary
  Arnetta Jones, who is African-American and helped organize the assembly for
  African-American students. "It wasn't, in any way, to put people down."

  African-American students raised their score on the state academic
  performance index by 61 points. "We showed an incredible amount of
  improvement on our test scores," Jones said.

  The event also celebrated black culture, Jones said. Two students performed a
  dance with choreography by African-American dance visionary Alvin Ailey. A
  black pastor from Bay Point delivered a message. One student read a poem that
  is the mantra of a black fraternity from UC Berkeley.

  "That kind of set the tone," Jones said.

  However, some African-American students interpreted the school's messages
  differently.

  Freshman Jason Lockett, 14, said he saw the pictures of Martin Luther King
  and the words, "Black Power" projected overhead. But the scores, despite
  being an increase over last year, still lag other races'.

  "It was to compare us and say how much dumber we were than everybody else,"
  Lockett said.

  Principal Hansen said although some students were upset, they deserve to know
  the truth about lower test scores.

  "We need help in closing the achievement gap," Hansen said. "This is one tiny
  step."

  Staff writer Eric Louie contributed to this report. Shirley Dang covers
  education. Reach her at 925-977-8418 or sdang@cctimes.com.