A lawsuit has been filed against what many consider to be the nation’s top public high school, The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax, Virginia. Coalition of The Silence, an advocacy group led by former county School Board member Tina Hone, and the Fairfax chapter of the NAACP have filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education alleging that the admissions process at Thomas Jefferson has resulted in too few minority students.
For full disclosure, my children are in the Fairfax public school system and have been part of the gifted and talented program — though I doubt they will apply to Thomas Jefferson.
The 17-page complaint points to a disproportionately low number of black and Latino students admitted to the school. They insist that the programs arise early in the failure to put minority students in the gifted and talented program on the elementary level.
While the school has been trying to boost minority participation, it does not have numerical goals for enrollment. Some parents have argued against the reliance on test scores as opposed to more flexible standard that rely more on essays and background.
Hone has not suggested any specific remedies and says that “there has to be a fix to the pipeline that feeds into the process.”
As someone familiar with the gifted and talented program, I am skeptical of the challenge. While the low minority participation numbers are a legitimate concern, TJ remains the premiere public school for math and science in the nation. While the country as a whole continues to fall behind other nations in math and science, TJ is one of the few exceptions — attracting brilliant students who are given highly advanced training. Math and science are fields given to objective testing and scoring. Students should be assured that they will be measured on their objective scores and rewarded for the hard work necessary to achieve admission.
There is no suggestion that TJ is actively trying to keep out minority students. Indeed, the school has been trying to recruit minority applicants. However, this school is the goal of thousands of students who want to go into math and science careers. The final selection should be based as much as possible on their objective performance on math and science tests. My concern is that we have a school that is an exception to the declining scores nationally — a school that has achieved international recognition due to its demand of top performance on these tests. It is a success that remains a point of pride for Fairfax — even those of us without kids at the school.
I do not believe that lower minority admission numbers are enough to justify the Administration ordering changes for the TJ admissions process. Indeed, there appears to be a higher representation of other minority such as Asian and Indian students. TJ is a system that focuses on demonstrated ability — primarily through objective math and science tests. That seems to me to be a fair emphasis for this type of school. What do you think?
Source: Washington Post
Elaine,
“While I can’t guarantee that no bias exists, I think it’s less about bias and more about one’s luck in being born into the “right” families. Children who reside in the “right” school districts because their parents can afford to buy houses in those districts have better educational opportunities because of their life circumstances/where they attend school.”
Isn’t that the same thing as bias? I feel it is, IMHO.
In addition, the wise teacher knows which child has which parent, the parent who can address the right ears to apply
pressure on teachers who don’t know enough about favoring the right children.
That is how it goes in the real world.
In schools, in the banks, on main street, etc.
Everywhere!
An excuse? Maybe. But it also is reality, IMHO.
BettyKath,
Juat got here.
You said:
“Is it possible that this kind of bias exists in the schools? Do elementary children who “look right”, and “sound right” and have the “right parents” get more attention and opportunities?”
——————————–
Agreed. At least from Sweden the socialist dream of equality nation. A society is not transformed in three generations here. If it ever will is not sure here.
I am most alert to verbal cues, but tens of other types can be used to distinguish “elite zebras” from the other ones.
Noam Chomsky said the principal purpose of elite schools like Harvard was ro put the finishing tooches on the recognition signals.
http://www.chomsky.info/articles/199710–.htm
Appreciate someone else recognizes this recognition system. It of course has its values materially.
Competition on the basis of equal starts? Forget it.
Can’t be done. But at least the plebes have the right to ask for a decent education and a decent job.
And elite status means immunity against economic catastrophes, as well. Or suicide.
“I’ve had my experience with that “gifted” process and I can tell you it’s as political as it is achievement based. Statistics tell us that 2-5% of the entire population of students is “gifted” in some areas of learning. How then do some schools show “gifted” students as 15-20% of their population? Something in the water maybe, or possibly pushy “economically gifted” parents who insist on such placement. When school administrators teachers accede to this pressure it’s nothing more than middle class affirmative action as a path to elite educational institutions.” (mespo)
There are many fine points made in the comments on this thread, but mespo’s, in my opinion, is the most blatantly truthful and it jibes with my own experiences and observations.
Economically disadvantaged kids need advocates at all levels of the educational process. Good teachers and administrators try but without the support of the community as a whole their efforts are often shut down and or marginalized.
Tina Hone, and the Fairfax chapter of the NAACP are advocating for these students. Hone is 100% correct in stating “there has to be a fix to the pipeline that feeds into the process.”
What’s wrong with segregated schools?
Malisha:
It used to.
Mespo, you’re right. But it can’t happen.
I suspect there are any number of minority students at TJ – African Americans, Asia-Americans, Americans of Indian descent, etc. What we’re really talking about is economic disadvantage versus economic advantage and opening the doors of elite institutions to those kids in a fair way.
Most of us have been raised to value merit and achievement. Thus we value “objective” measurements like standard testing. But test scores are only neutral and valid if we assume all students start the test with roughly the same advantages: stable home life, an emphasis on education at home, and enough financial resources to support intellectual growth. Sadly, for many, those advantages are not present in any meaningful way and a permanent underclass is likely unless the situation is reversed. Thus, how to address the problem”?
Conservatives rightly point out liberal hypocrisy in advocating affirmative action for others but not for their kids and their jobs. Liberals rightly decry conservatives for patent insensitivity to the needs and disadvantages of their fellow citizens. But cries of hypocrisy and insensitivity won’t fix the problem.
The solution is broad based and requires targeted educational opportunities for those kids most at risk. We will never make every underprivileged kid a suitable candidate for elite institutions but we can raise those kids to a level of proficiency. This means intense tutoring after school and at nights. We can also give those disadvantaged kids who can do the work the chance to compete.This does not in my judgment, however, require placing unqualified applicants in situations where experience tells us that they are likely to fail.
Perhaps just as importantly, the solution does not include denominating economically advantaged kids as “gifted” and according them easy entrance into those elite institutions as a matter of course. I’ve had my experience with that “gifted” process and I can tell you it’s as political as it is achievement based. Statistics tell us that 2-5% of the entire population of students is “gifted” in some areas of learning. How then do some schools show “gifted” students as 15-20% of their population? Something in the water maybe, or possibly pushy “economically gifted” parents who insist on such placement. When school administrators teachers accede to this pressure it’s nothing more than middle class affirmative action as a path to elite educational institutions.
The solution is elevating the economically disadvantaged kids to levels of achievement beyond their foundational starting point by targeting their education and allowing those who can to blossom. At the same time, we have to make the economically advantaged fairly compete without the fawning assistance of mommy and daddy.
bettykath,
While I can’t guarantee that no bias exists, I think it’s less about bias and more about one’s luck in being born into the “right” families. Children who reside in the “right” school districts because their parents can afford to buy houses in those districts have better educational opportunities because of their life circumstances/where they attend school.
Elaine,
I think we are in agreement…… Now, how to we get there from here….. Programs like this are not a priority…… Defense spending is the number one priority….. Tax breaks for the wealthy and corporation welfare seem to be more important than balancing the budget…… Education should be the goal…… Now…..how to we get there from here…. When the US Congress is set to take away benefits for the most needy…… And push that burden back on the states….. I kid you not….
I agree with others here. The admissions processed based on test scores is probably the most objective. The real problem is the prep that some students don’t get starting in pre-school and continuing thru elementary and middle school.
In my work at a large corporation I found that those who progressed most quickly were those who were seen in the most favorable light. That is, they were most like those doing the evaluations. Due to this bias, men were seen to have the potential to do the next level work but women had to actually find a way, on their own, to do the next level work without the promotion for some time before they were considered for the promotion. The evaluators were all men, white men. I can’t say they were biased about race (oh, yes I can!) b/c there were too few minorities for them to evaluate. (too few candidates that were easily turned down).
Is it possible that this kind of bias exists in the schools? Do elementary children who “look right”, and “sound right” and have the “right parents” get more attention and opportunities?
AY,
Yes, there should be standards. There should also be more programs like Head Start for poor children. Lots of bright kids don’t have the same kinds of educational opportunities as professor Turley’s children because of their life circumstances. It’s much easier for the children of well-educated parents of means to excel in school and on standardized tests than it is for children who come from poor families.
Today, as we see the number of children living in poverty increasing, it is ever more important to ensure that these children will have enough food to eat and have healthcare/dental services and early childhood education available to them.
How do we get our influence to trickle down?
Joe Football and Henry Sophomore is not going to come to JT”s. Agreed?
I see everybody has a site on Facebook, is on Youtube, Tweet, etc.
Who is doing the cosmetic campaigns for our “good causes for he sake of the public” organizations?
The net is there, the social media, but are “WE” there?
And if not, why not?
Thanks for Stiglitz.
Bypassing reading of the comments lets me speak of only JTs post.
I have no knowledge. Sometimes that helps, along with a worldview at times.
We have previously and currently seen the rise of performance shown in USSR and China, albeit slanted to favor those with “connections”. Whether the stats from there speak of overall improvement of the populace is perhaps not debateable but should be debateable as the stats build on respective government figures.
We in the USA, for some reason, have adopted the solution of putting elite resources at the disposal of elite students. Perhaps a good way to produce “spets” (top) competence, but unfortunately avoids the problem of what do we do with folks who can’t do the simple math for a normal life.
It also puts its reliance on the systems capabiility to
select top competent students early. Highly questionable capability. Again I lack knowledge, so fini for me on that.
The japanese-american scientist, whose name I forget but you recall, made the unpleasant point that much of the American progress is due to “foreign” students who remain and do 50 percent (?) of the work in our sciences.
I think that it was interesting that Asian students are demographically over represented, for which there are many esplanations, all valid.
If TJ is to be model to other school systems, fine.
Is that its purpose with respect to that need? Or does it take students from the whole nation, as our school of last hope to compete internationally?
A little OT, but as a reward to those who have read so far:
My young Iranian friend, 20, becoming journalist said in comparing Iranian school system and Swedish.
“Iranian colleges are like an inverted funnel, hard to get in but easy to get out. Swedish colleges are easy to get in (for her, NB), but hard to get out of.”
What is the American college system like?
The article requires more than a little foreknowledge, and more that one reading. Rich indeed.
The supercounties eventually become like Fairfax. Rockland County, NY. Montgomery County, MD. Los Angeles County, CA. Cook County, IL. It is a seemingly inexorable progression from money to corruption.
I would bet that there is some form of hidden, disguised, and camouflaged discrimination going on in the Fairfax schools that results in this result. I believe this because I have yet to see a single agency of any sort in Fairfax that is not infected with corruption and that does not “talk a good game” and vomit words of great properness and perfection to cover up the dirty deals that form the basis of business as usual there.
For this reason alone, the lawsuit is an important one; there needs to be as much challenge as possible to that snakepit’s deceitful operations policy (across all the boards and involving nearly everyone) to reach critical mass.
Any who have the money and energy and legal fire power should be attacking their public presences from all angles. GOOD LUCK, KEEP ‘EM FLYING.
Somebody needs to file RICO suits against most agencies and public entities in Fairfax. I would do it if I could…
I’m chiming in on this and expect backlash….. But should standards be lowered based upon race? I think that there have been numerous lawsuits for law school admissions…… Bakke vs Berkley comes to mind…… I am not saying that schools should not admit based upon race….. But that academic admissions based test scores is race and gender nuteral…..
I believe the purpose of the suit is to call attention to the facts that African American students are not getting the “equal education” due to the socio-economic issues that confront them, as suggested by Frankly. I don’t think they expect to win the suit, but the cause is worth addressing and getting it into the minds of the electorate and the administration of the school system.
Some children are born on third base because of the education and economic means of their parents. They attend topnotch elementary and middle schools. They are provided with plenty of enrichment through their parents and at school–as well as tutors and test prep if they need them. Other children–many from poor and/or minority families–may have overwhelming obstacles to overcome in order to qualify for entrance into prestigious public high schools. They rarely attend the best public schools with small class sizes or get the same kind of enrichment. They often start school ten steps behind children who come from families of means. The deck is stacked against them.
*****
Here’s an excerpt from an interesting article written by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz:
Joseph Stiglitz: What are Your Chances of Economic Success?
The American Dream can be restored, but not while inequality continues to undermine our values and identity.
June 13, 2012
http://www.alternet.org/story/155856/joseph_stiglitz%3A_what_are_your_chances_of_economic_success
Excerpt:
NEW YORK – America likes to think of itself as a land of opportunity, and others view it in much the same light. But, while we can all think of examples of Americans who rose to the top on their own, what really matters are the statistics: to what extent do an individual’s life chances depend on the income and education of his or her parents?
Nowadays, these numbers show that the American dream is a myth. There is less equality of opportunity in the United States today than there is in Europe – or, indeed, in any advanced industrial country for which there are data.
This is one of the reasons that America has the highest level of inequality of any of the advanced countries – and its gap with the rest has been widening. In the “recovery” of 2009-2010, the top 1% of US income earners captured 93% of the income growth. Other inequality indicators – like wealth, health, and life expectancy – are as bad or even worse. The clear trend is one of concentration of income and wealth at the top, the hollowing out of the middle, and increasing poverty at the bottom.
The complaint may be more about the district not preparing minority students better in the lower grades so that they can gain entrance in TJ. The difficulty will be in overcoming the larger percentage of minority kids suffering from the impact of poverty. Its hard to excel at education when you your parents couldn’t afford the early start, often work multiple jobs with uneven hours, can’t be sure where you will be living next month & often don’t have enough to eat let alone books or trips to the museum.
Those are not the school districts problems but thats where they will show up and then everyone expects the school to fix all that.