Discussion Please

[Mike]

Palm Beach, Fla. (CBS TAMPA) – The Florida State Board of Education passed a plan that sets goals for students in math and reading based upon their race.

On Tuesday, the board passed a revised strategic plan that says that by 2018, it wants 90 percent of Asian students, 88 percent of white students, 81 percent of Hispanics and 74 percent of black students to be reading at or above grade level. For math, the goals are 92 percent of Asian kids to be proficient, whites at 86 percent, Hispanics at 80 percent and blacks at 74 percent. It also measures by other groupings, such as poverty and disabilities, reported the Palm Beach Post.

The plan has infuriated many community activists in Palm Beach County and across the state.

"To expect less from one demographic and more from another is just a little off-base," Juan Lopez, magnet coordinator at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Riviera Beach, told the Palm Beach Post.

JFK Middle has a black student population of about 88 percent.


"Our kids, although they come from different socioeconomic backgrounds, they still have the ability to learn," Lopez said. "To dumb down the expectations for one group, that seems a little unfair."

Others in the community agreed with Lopez's assessment. But the Florida Department of Education said the goals recognize that not every group is starting from the same point and are meant to be ambitious but realistic.

As an example, the percentage of white students scoring at or above grade level (as measured by whether they scored a 3 or higher on the reading FCAT) was 69 percent in 2011-2012, according to the state. For black students, it was 38 percent, and for Hispanics, it was 53 percent.

In addition, State Board of Education Chairwoman Kathleen Shanahan said that setting goals for different subgroups was needed to comply with terms of a waiver that Florida and 32 other states have from some provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. These waivers were used to make the states independent from some federal regulations.

"We have set a very high goal for all students to reach in Florida," Shanahan said.

But Palm Beach County School Board vice-chairwoman Debra Robinson isn't buying the rationale.

"I'm somewhere between complete and utter disgust and anger and disappointment with humanity," Robinson told the Post. She said she has been receiving complaints from upset black and Hispanic parents since the state board took its action this week.

Robinson called the state board's actions essentially "proclaiming racism" and said she wants Palm Beach County to continue to educate every child with the same expectations, regardless of race.

 

[Larrry]

Now if the left would look at this. This is a true form of racism, and further more the racists are defining races down. then you expect kids to go out and perform in the real world. This also rings of Abuse.
But no we will have people cry racism because we didn't vote for racism.
What the heck is this world coming to.

 

[Traveler]

I'm a little surprised how closely the inverse of those numbers is to the real unemployment percentages of each of those groups.

Blame the welfare state for the reality they've created.

 

[Mike]

I'm a little surprised how closely the inverse of those numbers is to the real unemployment percentages of each of those groups.

Blame the welfare state for the reality they've created.

Welfare State = Democratic Plantation?

If the plan is initiated, would it be OK to give free points to the lesser educated in college admissions?

 

[Twister Frost]

I guess I am wondering how they can do this and belong to Common Core. Last I knew, Florida was a member of the Common Core, although not in the SMARTER Balance Consortium. For all that I have done in our state's CCSS, I have not seen nor heard where we are allowed to set advanced/proficient/basic/below basic numbers based on race.
It would be hard for me to discuss this at length, since I have pretty limited experience teaching students from race minorities in South Dakota and North Dakota. I wonder if it is equivalent to the discussions I have with myself concerning socio-economic and broken family/new modern family impacts that I see within education now.
What I will say is this---there is no way that 100% of the students going through our educational systems are going to be proficient at grade level---ever. That is a pipe dream, and someone needs to empty the pipe---I think from an educator's standpoint it would be interesting to look at the ESL/ELL numbers that might be found in the paperwork somewhere---that might make more sense if this applied to that.

 

[Mike]

English is a second language to a large percentage of kids in Florida. The 1st language is either Spanish or Ebonics.

 

[Twister Frost]

English is a second language to a large percentage of kids in Florida. The 1st language is either Spanish or Ebonics.

Which might make sense if that is what they were really setting cut % for---not that it would be right, but it might make more sense! If I get my lessons done for the night, I will try and do some looking back through the CCSS documents---maybe I missed something. But based on the fact that it involves the DOE, it appears as if they must have received an okay from someone higher up the ladder.

 

[Traveler]

I'm a little surprised how closely the inverse of those numbers is to the real unemployment percentages of each of those groups.

Blame the welfare state for the reality they've created.

Welfare State = Democratic Plantation? Would seem that getting out is about like the odds of successful rehab for hard drugs.
If the plan is initiated, would it be OK to give free points to the lesser educated in college admissions?

I'm pretty sure that's an old policy. How else would Obama get into an Ivy League?

 

[TexasBred]

I guess I am wondering how they can do this and belong to Common Core. Last I knew, Florida was a member of the Common Core, although not in the SMARTER Balance Consortium. For all that I have done in our state's CCSS, I have not seen nor heard where we are allowed to set advanced/proficient/basic/below basic numbers based on race.
It would be hard for me to discuss this at length, since I have pretty limited experience teaching students from race minorities in South Dakota and North Dakota. I wonder if it is equivalent to the discussions I have with myself concerning socio-economic and broken family/new modern family impacts that I see within education now.
What I will say is this---there is no way that 100% of the students going through our educational systems are going to be proficient at grade level---ever. That is a pipe dream, and someone needs to empty the pipe---I think from an educator's standpoint it would be interesting to look at the ESL/ELL numbers that might be found in the paperwork somewhere---that might make more sense if this applied to that.

They did 50 years ago...of course I can only speak for the white students. I have no idea how it was in the black schools are in mexico. That is not intended to be racist in the least...simply a fact.