Monday, May 23, 2016

Charter Solution Magnifies Segregation Problem

It is ironic that the ESEA, which was intended to break down school segregation, has been succeeded 60 years later by the latest version of the same legislation, now known as ESSA, which provides extra fuel to the segregation engine (charter schools).  A clip from the summary of a new study by the GAO.  Much more on this later:
The percentage of K-12 public schools in the United States with students who are poor and are mostly Black or Hispanic is growing and these schools share a number of challenging characteristics. From school years 2000-01 to 2013-14 (the most recent data available), the percentage of all K-12 public schools that had high percentages of poor and Black or Hispanic students grew from 9 to 16 percent, according to GAO's analysis of data from the Department of Education (Education). These schools were the most racially and economically concentrated: 75 to 100 percent of the students were Black or Hispanic and eligible for free or reduced-price lunch—a commonly used indicator of poverty. GAO's analysis of Education data also found that compared with other schools, these schools offered disproportionately fewer math, science, and college preparatory courses and had disproportionately higher rates of students who were held back in 9th grade, suspended, or expelled.

No comments:

Post a Comment