The Real Reason for Low Minority Test Scores

The people who are doing the testing in the state would not get a good grade based on testing minorities. It would make much more sense to test by economics. I say that because according to the article "Got Dough? How Billionaires Rule Our Schools," by education writer Joanne Barkan, schools with low poverty numbers are doing well. As you increase the number of students in poverty, the scores go down.

Our schools with 10 percent poverty are first in the world in reading and science, third in math. At 25 percent poverty, we're still first in reading and science. Given the fact that many economists believe most Americans haven't gotten a real raise in 30 years, you can figure out who will and who won't do well in school. 

Several ways to improve the situation may not break the bank. The obvious is to raise the standard of living. Besides that, we need to somehow convince the students, parents, teachers and unions that the economic situation is not all that rosie, yet we still need to push for better performance.

I can offer the schools a million dollars of free advice on this issue. Several ways of getting better performance would include:

1. Dennis Shirley wrote an excellent book on Community Organizing for Urban School Reform which contains many good ideas. What organizers refer to as "home visits" is something that has worked very well, especially with immigrant parents. If grade school teachers spent an hour visiting all of their students' homes, they would, according to Shirley's research, establish a much stronger bond between parent and teacher and student. Knowing what the family is going through during these sparse economic times could motivate teachers and, in turn, students.

2. Recognizing "second hand" noise at home. Most poorer and many middle class people live in apartments. Unlike in single family homes where you can send the kids upstairs or to another part of the house to study, students who live in apartments are usually within crowded hearing distance from the almighty TV set. Idealists advocate that parents and students limit TV significantly, but in the real world that won't likely happen. Offering kids who live in apartments earplugs may be a small investment for families, especially if a school district or even a parent organization could buy them in bulk. They should cost as little as a dollar a set.

3. Make use of the free online math-based tutorial website Khan Academy. With some sort of incentive program, the more students spend on this free website, the better they will do in math at virtually no cost. The site also covers other subjects but is primarily a math site.

4. Have an annual potluck dinner, class by class, at the schools with parents, students and teachers. This is also something that would be of little cost. This could also be a great opportunity to talk a little about education policy, in the city and state, or even show a documentary about education.

5. Look at what other countries are doing. I mentioned Germany in my last blog post, they have a very good apprenticeship program. Also Finland would be another model ,where they are rated the top education system in the world and have the highest regard for teachers. They also pay them very well.

In "Got Dough?," Barkan talks about how the billionaires want to influence education. These same people who are now preaching philanthropy have played a major role in our economic conundrum. Barbara Ehrenreich the noted author of Nickel and Dimed and other important works, argues that the true philanthropists of our time are the poor. They work for less, have less of everything and pay the price for our money driven society. Initiating a few projects that would give them a little extra might not reverse inequality, but might be a step in the right direction.