It was a bold headline, befitting the seriousness of the problem: “State black 8th-graders rank worst In nation in writing.”
And it was pretty damning stuff when you consider we’re talking about 14-year-old kids here.
The Journal Sentinel’s front-page headline last Friday pointed an accusing finger squarely at young African-American students in Wisconsin who apparently can’t keep up with their contemporaries. The worst writing students in the nation, that’s what national data found when it came to Wisconsin’s black students, including the distinction of having the lowest average scores and worst gap between black and white students anywhere.
These depressing results were taken from a national study often referred to as “The Nation’s Report Card,” which means this is one test we flunked badly. There’s always plenty of blame to go around when things get this dismal. I’m talking teachers, principals, politicians, business leaders, and of course, the parents of all those low-achieving students. But don’t worry about blaming the kids.
They already got theirs in that screaming headline.
2007 NAEP Writing Report. Alan Borsuk’s article.
Hello Jim, the 100 Black Men of Madison could use this information for our children’s testing scores. Outcomes are what we need to be able to focus on where we should start or put our efforts in aiding our children. I am suprised, but not so (much) that our children are at the lowest in the nation.
Thank you,
Edward Murray