Some radical educators in NYC might be surprised to learn that the groups they supposedly speak for don't agree with them:
Last week, a group called the New York Collective of Radical Educators staged a protest against standardized testing. Responding to recent reports about substantial gains for fourth-graders on citywide reading and writing examinations, the group argued that the improved scores reflect "drill-and-kill" test-preparation activities rather than real learning. Worst of all, protesters maintained, the entire testing enterprise discriminates against racial minorities. For blacks and Hispanics especially, they said, standardized tests inhibit academic achievement and increase the dropout rate.The only problem is, blacks and Hispanics don't see it that way.
Over the past decade, public opinion surveys have demonstrated overwhelming support among racial minorities for high-stakes testing. In a 2003 study by the Pew Hispanic Center, for example, three-quarters of Latinos said that standardized tests "should be used to determine whether students are promoted or can graduate"...Likewise, African-Americans favor high-stakes tests by large margins. To be sure, activist groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have criticized NCLB and state graduation exams. But the black rank and file tell another story.
Read it all. While it is true that both sides could be correct on some points, it is rare to see the minority parent pro-testing attitudes mentioned in the debate on race and testing. Unfortunately, I could see an anti-testing activist reading this article and taking away the message that they should redouble their efforts to convince parents that all tests are somehow racist.
The author of the article above, Jonathan Zimmerman, also wrote Whose America? Culture Wars in the Public Schools. NYCore, the group he mentions, lists their talking points here; you won't be surprised to learn that they don't believe in letting parents support local schools with their property tax money, white men aren't exactly welcome in their organization, and military recruiters are the evil embodiment of US "imperialism."
Posted by kswygert at June 8, 2005 05:26 AM