"Success for all who walk through these doors": Current relevance and thoughts

 Blog post #3, Current relevance

Hello again, Readers!

For this week's assignment, my group had to read chapters 5-7 (pages 108-160)!

One of the main topics of this assignment was standardized testing, and as a student who takes the SAT next week and has a lot of anxiety over it, I feel like this would be the most appropriate thing to write about.

Kozol starts off this chapter by describing how these schools would set aside large chunks of their school days to drill students for the exams (112-113).  Looking at this objectively, having study sessions for this test doesn't necessarily seem like a bad thing, however, reading more into it you see the school's motives. 

Later on, we find out that schools that do the worst get posted in articles for being the lowest-scoring schools, and the schools that do the best have their principal earn a $15,000 bonus (122). This shows that the motives behind the schools drilling the kids aren't the kid's education or success, it's money. 

Now, let's move into current relevance. 

As I stated before, I am taking the SAT next week. The SAT is a popular exam given by the Collegeboard and taken by high school juniors that supposedly shows how prepared you are for college. However, there have been numerous studies that show that the SAT disproportionately affects Black students so that they score lower. 


CCF_20170201_Reeves_1
                                                                         Courtesy of Brookings
As the graph shows, there is an extreme race gap when it comes to SAT scores.  It is theorized that this score gapping could be the result of several things. One, education in predominantly Black communities is shown as weaker because of the high student-to-teacher ratio and the high turnover rate of teachers. A reason for the weaker education is the cycle I have mentioned in my last two posts. Another reason for the lower scoring could be how college isn't advertised nearly as much as the school-to-work plan is, (I talk about this more in the "HELP WANTED" post!). A third reason scores might be so unproportionate is because of the resources available for studying. However, these are only speculations. 

Nonetheless, there is no immediate fix to this problem. As we dive deeper into this book, it becomes more and more apparent how many different layers there are to this and how much work it would take to fix it. Years of racism and discrimination can't just be waved away. 

It is sad to see how the effects of standardized testing can be seen on such young students, and how they don't exactly change as the students get older. There is no apparent solution to this problem, but it is still very very relevant to this day. More and more colleges are becoming test-optional as a way to try and help this problem, but this is the only "solution" that seems to be happening. 

Overall, I am once again impressed by Kozol's writing and exploration into Apartheid schools in America. 

I will see you next Thursday!

A special thanks to Emma H. for helping me with citations because of connectivity issues!

Works Cited

Kozol, Jonathan. The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. New York, Three Rivers Press, 2005.

Reeves, Richard V., and Dimitrios Halikias. "Race Gaps in SAT Scores Highlight Inequality and Hinder Upward Mobility." Brookings, The Brookings Institution, 1 Feb. 2017, www.brookings.edu/research/race-gaps-in-sat-scores-highlight-inequality-and-hinder-upward-mobility/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021.


Comments

  1. Ms. LaClairMarch 21, 2021 at 9:04 AM

    Your comment that test scores are often about money isn't wrong; however, it's also more complicated than it just being about money for a selfish reason. Often, if students don't perform well on standardized tests, that means the school itself won't get as much money from the federal government, which impacts all students in the school.

    You've done a nice job showing that there is a problem with racial equality on the SATs. It would be nice to see some more discussion and evidence of the reasons this occurs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousMarch 21, 2021 at 12:00 PM

      Hi Ms. LaClair!
      Thank you for pointing out the money situation. I do realize that higher standardized scores=more money for the school.
      As for the racial bias from SAT scores, it's interesting to see how much every little thing effects another thing. There is no one answer for why it's so racially unequal.
      Thank you!
      -Paige

      Delete
    2. AnonymousMarch 22, 2021 at 8:36 AM

      I like how you are comparing what you are learning to something you will be experiencing shortly. The SATs have been advertised as what determines success for the majority of our high school careers. Do you believe that standardized tests are not reflective of every school's curriculum, and this is why some students are at a disadvantage? You also stated that the test-optional method adopted by many colleges appears to be the only help that people affected by SAT racial gaps are given. While reading The Shame of the Nation, have you gotten any ideas on other solutions that might contribute to solving the problem? I'm interested to see your thoughts and opinions on such matters.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousMarch 21, 2021 at 8:17 PM

    Hi Paige! First off, I'm glad I was able to help with the citations! Secondly, I loved how you related your book to a topic that is very relevant in our current lives - the SAT. I know the SAT is a huge part of one's junior year. For me personally, I have studying since October and had the privilege of having a tutor as well. However, I also realize that these resources are not available to everyone. With the expansion of Khan Academy and similar websites, the ability to study is becoming more widespread. Still, I do not feel as though the SAT is a fair assessment of intelligence, rather, it also measures how much additional "assistance" students were able to get in preparation for the test. I'm certainly glad that colleges are moving to test optional because I feel like judging students off one test score belittles the character of the student as a whole. Do you think schools will continue to be test optional even after the pandemic has been resolved? Looking forward to keeping updated with your posts!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 21, 2021 at 8:50 PM

    Hello Paige,
    I appriciated your blog post. It bourght up a topic I didn't know much about. Your blog post explained it well, and now I know that it happens reguarly and isn't seen in just one community. It is a strange concept to wonder why it appears to be rigged against studnets of color. Any other insight on this topic would be greatly appreciated!
    Emily

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 21, 2021 at 10:13 PM

    Hi Paige!
    I liked your blog post! I thought it was interesting how you mentioned the point about teachers drilling students before SATs for money. Do you think that teachers are also drilling students because they are motivated to help them do well on the SAT? Also, I had never really thought about the race gap in the SAT scores or knew that it was a problem. I like how you bring light to the issue. You mention how there is no solution to this problem. What would your solution to this problem be?

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMarch 22, 2021 at 10:53 AM

    I think you do a good job of presenting a brief overview of the topics and how they're all interconnected. Overall, I think you show that there is a sound argument for racial inequality amongst standardized tests.

    One little critique I have is on the line that reads "the SAT disproportionately affects Black students so that they score lower."
    My initial reaction to this sentence was that you were implying that the SAT/College Board is intentionally working to make black students score lower. Perhaps wording it a little bit differently would align better with your argument: that there are various exterior reasons that cause black students to do worse on standardized tests.

    Do you think that perhaps a majority of the "low" test scores are from kids from lower economic backgrounds, regardless of their race? Maybe the SAT disproportionately affects the lower class as opposed to just the black community?

    ReplyDelete

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