Worse Is Getting Worse
SOUTH CAROLINA’S ACHIEVEMENT GAP GROWS
FITSNews – July 9, 2008 – In news that most mainstream media outlets have chosen to ignore, two new reports show that African-American students in South Carolina are falling even further behind their white peers.
One report is from the national Center for Education Policy, the other is from the Southeastern Regional Education Board, but both show a widening performance gap between white and black students, as well as a widening gap between affluent and low-income students.
From The Voice:
These gaps are NOT the result of improvement at the “best†public schools or by the wealthiest students. SREB went on to identify all South Carolina’s students as trailing both regional and national peers in reading, SAT scores, SAT participation, AP scores, AP participation, and average graduation rate. This despite the fact that “SC’s funding for K-12 students outpaced enrollment and inflation from 2000 to 2005.â€
In fact, it has been shown that middle class and wealthy suburban public schools are (even further) behind their national and regional socio-economc peers. This despite the national trend, identified by Fordham and Brookings scholars, of greater recent gains for low-income and minority students in most states. Only in South Carolina, where public school failure is so widespread, has both the gap widened and total average performance dropped.
Of course, instead of acknowledging that the “more money approach” has utterly failed, South Carolina’s black leaders for the most part continue to bow submissively to the insatiable needs of the education establishment. In fact, leaders of the Legislative Black Caucus spent last month trying to defeat the one African-American lawmaker who is standing up for parents’ rights.
They failed in that effort (dramatically, in fact), which we hope will encourage more black leaders to stand up and start doing what’s right for these children, not the bureaucrats.
Comments
By Gene E. Nowak on July 9th, 2008 at 10:12 am
We need to reward the SC Education system for its efforts. Granted they again failed miserabley, but then there are a few dollars in the voters pockets they have not yet confiscated for their use.
They are the rewarding the systems enablers with low cost housing and are going to build them a taxpayer funded retreat center in the mountians. That is sure to improve the Educrat’s hold on the purse strings.
By baker on July 9th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
The funny thing is, of course, that Mark Sanford’s PPIC plan — the one Will Folks used to be paid to tout — guaranteed nothing to the poorest students, those on the wrong side of the achievement gap. There was talk about “scholarship granting organizations” that MIGHT take off and fund tuition for the poorest students. But PPIC was not primarily targeted at the neediest children in the state.
And, of course, that says nothing of transportation, private school availability and admission requirements (would Heathwood Hall take those poor, struggling students out of Richland One? Doubtful.), and other practical hurdles to providing private school choice for students who are falling behind academically.
Considering also that success in school goes to issues far beyond the classroom — nutrition, help with homework, pre-natal healthcare, intellectual enrichment at home and in the community — the report cited by Will may also suggest that our state’s poorest people haven’t benefitted from the leadership of Gov. Sanford.
By rick on July 9th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Shame on you people for expecting these poor african-american children to act like….Asians. Since acting white is bad, how about Asians since they’re extremely high achievers. Racist? I don’t know, I only know that making excuses doesn’t help them or the community at large. Left to my own opinion, my answer is hunger and cold goes a long way to adjust attitudes. So much for blaming South Carolina for failing to teach the same segment of society that has whites and asians and african-americans sitting next to each other in a classroom. Sounds to me that Mom and Dad next some practice in Butt whupping.
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