Civil Rights Orgs File Complaint Over New York’s High Stakes Tests [View all]

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from In These Times:


Civil Rights Orgs File Complaint Over New York’s High Stakes Tests
By Michelle Chen


Every year, New York City middle-schoolers subject themselves to a grueling academic ritual that could make or break their educational futures, or so they’re told. The 2.5-hour multiple-choice Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) serves as the sole gateway to a suite of elite public schools—particularly Bronx Science, Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Technical. The kids who make the cut tend to be disproportionately Asian and white; Latino and black students are vastly underrepresented.

Civil rights groups are now waging a legal challenge accusing New York City’s education authorities of tying the elite tier of schools to an arbitrary test that effectively perpetuates inequality. The complaint was filed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, LatinoJustice PRLDEF and the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College on behalf of a coalition of civil rights and community groups.

The backdrop to the legal controversy is a growing rebellion against high-stakes standardized tests, which some say perpetuate racial and socioeconomic equity in urban schools. The SHSAT is separate from the state's standardized test system (which is designed to comply with federal education reforms), but, as a gatekeeper to educational opportunity, raises similar concerns.

The test, which civil rights advocates point out lacks a solid empirical basis, tracks underlying, deeply intertwined educational barriers of class and race. Kids living in poverty tend not to have the same access to either the private test preparation courses or the school environments that train students to score well on the math and verbal sections of the SHSAT. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/14155/high_stakes_and_deep_inequalities_new_york_teachers_challenge_testing_regim/