| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Test meant to screen teachers instead weeded out minorities |
| 2017-03-13 |
| [ABCNEWS.GO] New York education officials are poised to scrap a test designed to measure the reading and writing skills of people trying to become teachers, in part because an outsized percentage of black and Hispanic candidates were failing it. The state Board of Regents on Monday is expected Monday to adopt a task force's recommendation of eliminating the literacy exam, known as the Academic Literacy Skills Test. Backers of the test say eliminating it could put weak teachers in classrooms. Critics of the examination said it is redundant and a poor predictor of who will succeed as a teacher. "We want high standards, without a doubt. Not every given test is going to get us there," said Leslie Soodak, a professor of education at Pace University who served on the task force that examined the state's teacher certification tests. The literacy test was among four assessments introduced in the 2013-2014 school year as part of an effort to raise the level of elementary and secondary school teaching in the state. Leaders of the education reform movement have complained for years about the caliber of students entering education schools and the quality of the instruction they receive there. A December 2016 study by the National Council on Teacher Quality found that 44 percent of the teacher preparation programs it surveyed accepted students from the bottom half of their high school classes. The reformers believe tests like New York's Academic Literacy Skills Test can serve to weed out aspiring teachers who aren't strong students. But the literacy test raised alarms from the beginning because just 46 percent of Hispanic test takers and 41 percent of black test takers passed it on the first try, compared with 64 percent of white candidates. A federal judge ruled in 2015 that the test was not discriminatory, but faculty members at education schools say a test that screens out so many minorities is problematic. "Having a white workforce really doesn't match our student body anymore," Soodak said. Having an illiterate workforce does. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #12 We make snarky remarks because it keeps us from getting murderously angry And we know it will burn itself out given time. In the meantime, we roast marshmallows. |
| Posted by: gorb 2017-03-13 16:38 |
| #11 It's fun and often funny to make snarky remarks. We make snarky remarks because it keeps us from getting murderously angry, SCFI. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2017-03-13 16:32 |
| #10 Why concern ourselves with illiterate teachers, where there are so many pressing bathroom gender choices to sort out? |
| Posted by: regular joe 2017-03-13 15:49 |
| #9 It's fun and often funny to make snarky remarks. But that means we're part of the problem. Lets try to be part of the solution and come up with some suggestions to resolve the education problem. Clearly the left failed, can we do better or do nothing and leave it to others to solve this? Voting for a decent board of education is part of the solution, not keeping the same old tired do nothing board. |
| Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance 2017-03-13 15:39 |
| #8 Having an illiterate workforce does. Perfect snark. In so many ways. |
| Posted by: gorb 2017-03-13 11:59 |
| #7 46 percent of Hispanic test takers 41 percent of black test takers 64 percent of white test takers So hire the Hispanic and blacks that passed and improve the quality of students educations. The above is not as bad as the article makes it out to be. The problem is not so much the quality of the teachers (although it is a factor) as it is the students, their parents and the support the students get at home. My solutions, get rid of many, if not most, of the "experts" that seems to not have anything to do with actual teaching. Go back to the three "R"s (the basics) with additional core subjects as warranted. Give strong support to home, including home visits, to enlist parents support and enforcement in their children education. /rant |
| Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance 2017-03-13 11:08 |
| #6 And the circle of poverty for the inner city continues... |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2017-03-13 08:19 |
| #5 Um, guys, the test isn't the problem. It's the low standards minorities have for themselves that's the problem. All you're doing is saying *YOU* don't expect any better of them, either. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2017-03-13 07:18 |
| #4 "Weeding out"... how very crass and awkward. Hasn't anyone read Darwin ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-03-13 04:01 |
| #3 Illiterates don't read blogs = don't vote the wrong way. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2017-03-13 03:47 |
| #2 Literacy is a privilege of contemporary elites. Antiquity is filled with tribes who thrived without it. The science is settled. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-03-13 03:42 |
| #1 We want high standards, without a doubt. So we are going to lower or eliminates literacy standards for teachers... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2017-03-13 00:25 |