"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Exit Exams as Part of the War Against the Poor and the Brown


High school exit exams are new to Arizona, and many people there, as noted in this story, are wondering about the fairness of such tests. Some must know that one of the most reliable predictors of test scores is family income, as shown on this information that FairTest obtained from the College Board in 2002. These same correlations, by the way, can be found in any set of state test scores or in international comparisons, regardless of grade level.

Family Income----Verbal/Math Scores

Less than $10,000/year-----417/442
$10,000 - $20,000/year-----435/453
$20,000 - $30,000/year-----461/470
$30,000 - $40,000/year-----480/485
$40,000 - $50,000/year-----496/501
$50,000 - $60,000/year-----505/509
$60,000 - $70,000/year-----511/516
$70,000 - $80,000/year-----517/524
$80,000 - $100,000/year-----530/538
More than $100,000/year-----555/568

Perhaps these same ambivalent Arizona citizens could use these facts as they reconsider their decision:
  • Of the 10 states with the highest African-American populations, 9 have high school exit exams
  • Of the 10 states with the highest Hispanic populations, 8 have high school exit exams
  • Of the 10 states with highest white populations, 1 has a high school exit exam
  • of the 10 states with lowest graduation rates, all ten have high school exit exams; and 9 of these states have had them for more than 10 years

Very effective policy--very effective in the continuing oppression of minorities and the poor.

2 comments:

  1. Why am I not surprised to see Joe Thomas on here, supporting this spewer of hatred and anti-testing hysteria?

    Hi, Joe! (waving!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. BTW, how are these students being oppressed by having the failure of their education system pointed out? Cockroaches scurry from the light.

    ReplyDelete