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Protesters Call High School Exit Exam 'Racist'
let's see....2+2=4, Washington was the 1st president, and man landed on the moon in 1969.
that doesn't change no matter WHAT color you are. did the fact that maybe you are stupid factor in to the idea of why you don't good on tests.
Protesters Call High School Exit Exam 'Racist' - Critics Say Tests Are Biased Toward Whites, Asians
NBC 4 - Los Angeles ^ | Feb. 26, 2003 | NBC 4
Posted on 02/27/2003 9:36 AM PST by Civilization 3
LOS ANGELES -- Demonstrators urged the Los Angeles school board Tuesday to reconsider the use of tests they say are racist and unfair to blacks and Latinos.
Some people believe the California High School Exit Exam and other standardized tests are culturally biased toward whites and Asians.
"We are concerned about the racist tests that are going on in the schools today," said Paige Leven of the Coalition for Educational Justice.
The demonstration was timed to coincide with proposal from school board members Genethia Hudley Hayes, who is black, and Jose Huizar, who is of Latino descent. They want state officials to explore the "legal, financial and policy implications of establishing a moratorium on the high stakes consequences of the (high school exit exam)."
At the same time, Hayes and Huizar want to continue using results from the exit exam as a "diagnostic tool."
Whites and students of Asian descent typically score better than blacks and Latinos on standardized tests. Huizar said the gap was at least a "20-25 percent disparity."
Last spring, the school board voted 4-1 to consider alternatives to the Stanford 9 and high school exit exam after Hayes and Huizar suggested the tests were biased against nonwhites from poor families.
But Superintendent Roy Romer said the two tests are required by state law.
Tuesday, Hayes and Huizar proposed that the district consider adopting or expanding "alternative or interim assessments to improve the quality of information available to individual classroom teachers."
The alternatives would include "language arts performance assignments" for grades 2-9 and quarterly assessments in math.
Hayes and Huizar also want to create a task force to devise an "Opportunity to Learn Index that would provide public information on ... students' equitable access to tools, resources and materials that inform the educational conditions under which they are assessed."
Demonstrators said many inner-city students were disadvantaged.
"We have very little funds. We have very little books," said Victor Banuelos, an 11th-grade student at Los Angeles High School.
Hayes said she was concerned that the district was considering offering two kinds of high school diplomas -- one saying the student passed the exit exam, and the other saying he or she did not.
The school board will vote on the Hayes-Huizar proposal in two weeks.
that doesn't change no matter WHAT color you are. did the fact that maybe you are stupid factor in to the idea of why you don't good on tests.
Protesters Call High School Exit Exam 'Racist' - Critics Say Tests Are Biased Toward Whites, Asians
NBC 4 - Los Angeles ^ | Feb. 26, 2003 | NBC 4
Posted on 02/27/2003 9:36 AM PST by Civilization 3
LOS ANGELES -- Demonstrators urged the Los Angeles school board Tuesday to reconsider the use of tests they say are racist and unfair to blacks and Latinos.
Some people believe the California High School Exit Exam and other standardized tests are culturally biased toward whites and Asians.
"We are concerned about the racist tests that are going on in the schools today," said Paige Leven of the Coalition for Educational Justice.
The demonstration was timed to coincide with proposal from school board members Genethia Hudley Hayes, who is black, and Jose Huizar, who is of Latino descent. They want state officials to explore the "legal, financial and policy implications of establishing a moratorium on the high stakes consequences of the (high school exit exam)."
At the same time, Hayes and Huizar want to continue using results from the exit exam as a "diagnostic tool."
Whites and students of Asian descent typically score better than blacks and Latinos on standardized tests. Huizar said the gap was at least a "20-25 percent disparity."
Last spring, the school board voted 4-1 to consider alternatives to the Stanford 9 and high school exit exam after Hayes and Huizar suggested the tests were biased against nonwhites from poor families.
But Superintendent Roy Romer said the two tests are required by state law.
Tuesday, Hayes and Huizar proposed that the district consider adopting or expanding "alternative or interim assessments to improve the quality of information available to individual classroom teachers."
The alternatives would include "language arts performance assignments" for grades 2-9 and quarterly assessments in math.
Hayes and Huizar also want to create a task force to devise an "Opportunity to Learn Index that would provide public information on ... students' equitable access to tools, resources and materials that inform the educational conditions under which they are assessed."
Demonstrators said many inner-city students were disadvantaged.
"We have very little funds. We have very little books," said Victor Banuelos, an 11th-grade student at Los Angeles High School.
Hayes said she was concerned that the district was considering offering two kinds of high school diplomas -- one saying the student passed the exit exam, and the other saying he or she did not.
The school board will vote on the Hayes-Huizar proposal in two weeks.
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