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July 19, 2012

Tyrany of Low Expectations: Will lowered test scores bring about broader change in Madison schools?

Chris Rickert via several kind readers:

Wisconsin has a "long way to go in all our racial/ethnic groups," said Adam Gamoran, director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at UW-Madison.

My hope is that, given Wisconsin's overwhelmingly white population, proficiency problems among white students will spur more people to push for policies inside and outside of school that help children -- all children -- learn.

"I hate to look at it that way, but I think you're absolutely right," said Kaleem Caire, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Madison. "The low performance of white students in our state may just lead to the type and level of change that's necessary in public education for black and other students of color to succeed as well."

Indeed, Gamoran said Massachusetts' implementation of an evaluation system similar to the one Wisconsin is adopting now has been correlated with gains in reading and math proficiency and a narrowing of the racial achievement gap in math. But he emphasized that student achievement is more than just the schools' responsibility.

Madison has known for a while that its schools are not meeting the needs of too many students of color.

The issue of low expectations and reduced academic standards is not a new one. A few worthwhile, related links:

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 19, 2012 8:21 AM
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