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Op-Ed:
Public schools gush over equality but neglect poor kids, students of
color
[The Center Square] Dave Trabert |
RealClearWire
School boards across the
nation are gushing over their devotion to equality and their
determination to stamp out racism, but until they stop ignoring their
own systemic educational discrimination for low-income kids and students
of color, their words are merely political posturing. |
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 According to the 2019 National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP), white 4th-graders are 2.5 times as likely to read proficiently
as Black students (45% vs. 18%), and twice as likely to be proficient as
Hispanic students (45% vs. 23%).
The raw NAEP scores show that Black students and Hispanic students are more than
two years’ worth of learning behind white students in the 4th grade. With ten
points on NAEP being the equivalent of a year’s worth of learning, Black
students are 2.6 years’ worth of learning behind white students and Hispanic
students are 2.1 years behind. This is a critical time for students, as the 4th
grade is when students transition from learning how to read to reading in order
to learn.
Low-income students also suffer from educational
discrimination. Students who are not low-income are 2.5 times as likely to read
proficiently in the 4th grade, and the low-income kids are 2.8 years’ worth of
learning behind their more affluent peers – in the 4th grade.
Here in Kansas, there is further evidence of educational discrimination that may
exist in many other states.
The Legislature has provided about $5 billion in additional targeted funding
since 2005 to close achievement gaps for low-income kids and those below grade
level. But a 2019 Legislative Post Audit found most of the at-risk funding they
reviewed “was used for teachers and programs for all students and did not appear
to specifically address at-risk students as required by state law.” Kansas
Policy Institute’s 2015 study found similar results.
Black and Hispanic students and low-income kids are no less capable of learning
than other students; they just haven’t had the same opportunities in most
states. Florida and Arizona, however, have provided those opportunities through
robust school choice programs for many years, and the results are remarkable.
School choice gives kids a fighting chance
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Fourth-grade reading proficiency for Black,
Hispanic, and low-income students in Arizona and Florida has grown
considerably faster than the national average. The level for Black
students in Arizona improved 91% between 1998 and 2019. The Florida
level soared by 188%, while the national average improved 80%.
Reading proficiency for Hispanic students in Arizona jumped 150%, or
about double the rate of the national average. Florida’s gain also
exceeds the national average growth rate.
Low-income kids in Arizona and Florida also had
much higher growth, with improvements of 80% and 133%, respectively,
compared to the national average of 62%.
Florida, which already has among the most expansive school-choice
offerings in the nation, just expanded its school voucher program to
make many more students eligible.
A recent national poll conducted by Real Clear Opinion Research on
behalf of the American Federation of Children found 71% of voters
back school choice. People support school choice because they know
it works for students. There is no single, perfect solution to get
students the opportunity they deserve but choice is a big part of
the all-of-the-above effort, and the results show that it works.
But the education establishment and the teacher unions vehemently
oppose school choice. They all know that less than 10% of Black and
Hispanic high school graduates are college-ready in English,
Reading, Math, and Science (ACT). They know that low-income kids and
minorities are more than two years’ worth of learning behind white
students (NAEP). And in Kansas and probably most states, funding
provided to close achievement gaps isn’t being spent directly on
enhanced services for those students.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is educational discrimination.
Dave Trabert is CEO of Kansas Policy Institute.
Click here to respond to the editor about this article |
