Comments on: Test Scores Up, but Racial Gap Remains

Achievement Gap between Black, White Students Persists, Report Finds

[Joe_NY_15]

Masses, you are very wise indeed...(no soto pun intended).

That's precisely the reason....lack of family support systems....intact home and lack of 2 parent homes...in addition, the lack of involvement by the minority parents in their children's school/work has a lot to do with it.

[npkppprc]

I agree, now explain how students who don't speak or understand english graduate from U.S. schools.

[aChangeOfIdeas]

"no state saw its achievement gap widen". OK, that's good news at least, it also points out that all groups were doing better. And the sub-groups DO matter, to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the NCLB. These are kids that are in the same school, same classrooms, same books, same assignments. As a teacher I can tell you that the kids don't show up on day 1 all identical and then the blacks and special ed kids are just ignored. They show up on day 1 with varying degrees of readiness and pre-existing knowledge. This is why pre-school and Head start are so important. But meanwhile, the more affluent kids are getting sent to Montessori preschools and Science camps at four. The gap is probably more of an economic gap than a racial gap.

[pw08-2009]

How do you know tey had more experience. You can't fight some chemical fires with water or you'll make them worse dude...I mean think before you make such stupid comment. Just because you may be too lazy to learn something new, doesn't mean everyone else should have to suffer. If someone presented Einstein with your theory...maybe it would sound like this..."who needs education to just mix soe chemicals together..." or "numbers are numbers, wo needs to put them togethr mathematically..." see my point...your argument is weak.

Peple are tired of hearing lazy people make excuses and sitting on their butts because we want to succeed and move forward...

[dragyn30]

This is sad, they seem to release the statistics that keep this issue racially charged!

As for the B*ll Sh*t about there being a disadvantage about the tests being in English - TOUGH!! You are in America learn the language! The biggest let down in this is that schools offer classes to students whose primary language is not English - I have no problem with that. I have a huge problem that when this kid goes home there is no more English, which only hurts the child.

I do not believe that any State should offer their driver's test in any other language the road signs and highway electronic warnings are all in English the test should be too! No one and I repeat No One should be allow to take the test with an interpreter.

They need to realize that there will always be a gap as long as people use their skin color or native language or upbringing as an excuse not to even try.

[eazyjay9ja]

This reports are laughable. (1)Can you please compare test scores of Whites and Blacks attending same school? If you keep comparing scores of white students, that mostly attend Private schools versus Blacks students, that mostly attend public schools, this are the results you will get.

(2) It is laughable that test is needed for fire fighters...lol. So now you need to attend college to learn how to fight fires? White folks need to chill on this, those Black fire fighters had years of experience, but now hey should be subjected to lower office, to a white person that attended college, with minimal fire fighting experience? Just because they are good at theory? Can you test them on the job? that way you know who is the better fire fighter rather than turning everything into theory based. Just because I am smart at theory doesn't mean I can apply my knowledge practically.

[pw08-2009]

How do you know tey had more experience. You can't fight some chemical fires with water or you'll make them worse dude...I mean think before you make such stupid comment. Just because you may be too lazy to learn something new, doesn't mean everyone else should have to suffer. If someone presented Einstein with your theory...maybe it would sound like this..."who needs education to just mix soe chemicals together..." or "numbers are numbers, wo needs to put them togethr mathematically..." see my point...your argument is weak.

Peple are tired of hearing lazy people make excuses and sitting on their butts because we want to succeed and move forward...

[eazyjay9ja]

Sit on who's butt? Can you please tell me why we are "lazy"....Take away all your inheritance, lets start on a equal footing...then explain to me who is lazy.

[idcabouturproblems]

No, but if they want a good paying job or to succeed in this country, I would recommend it.

[credibility2]

In Illinois, the state dumbed down the standardized tests and adapted them to IL standards with easier questions some years ago, because the IL kids, especially those in Chicago were doing abysmally. The recent big news here is that some of the scores for Chicago kids in certain grade levels improved, but very slightly. Big deal, the slight improvement doesn't mean anything, given the fact that IL devised its own test, which isn't the same as the national test other kids have to take. Exactly who are we kidding, when we dumb down tests just so certain groups can think they're keeping pace with other groups? It's a false sense of accomplishment and nothing to be proud of and continues to handicap the kid. Money isn't the issue, either. Teacher qualifications can play into the equasion, but the biggest difference is having involved parents. Too many parents don't get involved in their kid's education, because they not very bright themselves. They cart their kids off to school at a primary grade level without even knowing how to read or write, or know how to spell their name, or simple math, or even how to write out the alphabet. Too many parents expect the teachers to not only teach, but to raise their kids. Parents are supposed to prepare their kids by teaching them basic social and educational skills before they step foot into pre-school or kindergarten or the first grade.

[zky1925]

Funny how asians are the only minority group which is actually penalized by affirmative action, yet Asians continue to excel, and only to do even better, in schools. Although I agree that academic performance doesn't equal to career performance, one might still wonder whether this discrepancy might actually have been caused by something else other than the "minority" or "race" label.

[zky1925]

Affirmative action leads to many underqualified AA and Hispanic students entering Universities where they don't fit in academically. In those universities, they are soon overwhelmed by the peer pressure and harsh competition since asian students and white students are penalized and therefore have to fare far better than AAs and Hispanics in order to get admitted. However, once in college, there is no affirmative action that continues to shelter those unqualified students from being crushed by their better peers and when the reality sets in, they feel frustrated and drop out.