Reply to Dumb WaPoo Article on Public Schools

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Here is a link to the GAO report on which the article is based.  http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/676745.pdf

As I read it, the report is saying something pretty similar to what OP suggested.  Schools with students that are disproportionately black/Hispanic and low-income do worse on academic achievement measures.  People who can afford to avoid schools with low academic achievement measures will avoid them.  The people who can afford to avoid those schools are more often white.  As a result, segregation increases because of income disparities.  Various school districts have tried different tactics to encourage more racial diversity at schools, by giving extra money and better facilities to the schools that are low-income and black/Hispanic.  But even those extra resources do not lead to much more diversity.

To me, it seems there are essentially two potential solutions:

1. Decide as a society that we value integration/diversity more highly than academic success.  If maximizing integration is the goal, then schools and governments will essentially need to force students to integrate by race and income.  This means upper and middle class students will somehow be forced into schools that are academically weaker, all in the name of increased diversity.  The hope, of course, is that in more integrated/diverse schools, the academic success of wealthier/whiter students will somehow encourage the other students to academic improvement, but I have not seen much evidence that approach works.

2. Decide as a society that we value academic success for each student more highly than integration/diversity.  This means we focus on lifting the academic achievement of each student, regardless of the impact on integration/diversity.  That likely means we have fairly segregated schools in the short term, as we abandon efforts at diversity.  It means lots of education money gets thrown at increasing the academic performance of black/Hispanic and low-income students.  Hopefully, in the long term, it means we succeed in raising the academic performance of the black/Hispanic and low-income groups, so that integration naturally follows.  (Speaking personally, I suspect that this approach would lead to more racial integration over time, but would never lead to much income integration because the wealthy will always have more money to spend on things that lead to improved academic performance.)
[/quote]

No, you misread the report and fundamentally misunderstand the legal principals.  The point is that segregation is causing minority students to receive worse educations than white students, which is racial discrimination.  It's not about balancing academic achievement vs segregation.  We already know that segregation based on race that causes a disparage impact is illegal.  [/quote]

I don't think I misunderstand, but maybe you can help educate me.  Here's how I read the GAO report ...

1. Government-sponsored segregation is illegal.  No school district may engage in racial segregation. Page 4 of report.
2. However, no law requires schools or families to create diverse schools. Indeed, as the GAO report notes, "efforts to increase the diversity of schools are
hampered sometimes because the composition of neighborhood schools is often a microcosm of children’s neighborhoods. Thus, children who live in neighborhoods with a high minority population and with high levels of poverty tend to go to schools mirroring these demographics." Page 1 of the cover letter.
3. The Department of Education and various local school boards have programs in place to promote diversity in school populations, but those . Page 5-6 of the report.
4. DOJ has some open cases against some school districts that engaged in actual illegal segregation, sometimes 40-50 years ago.  "These “desegregation orders” may include various requirements, such as creating special schools and redrawing attendance zones in such a way as to foster more racial diversity."  Page 6-7 of report.
5. "An extensive body of research over the past 10 years shows a clear link between schools’ socioeconomic (or income) composition and student academic outcomes. Page 8.
6. "The studies, however, paint a more nuanced picture of the effects of schools’ racial composition on student academic outcomes." Page 9.
7. Over time, schools with high rates of poverty and with racial insularity have seen more poverty and more racial insularity.  Page 10-15.  [[i]In the GAO report's lingo "H/PBH" schools refer to "high poverty black and Hispanic" schools.[/i]]
8. H/PBH schools have fewer advanced courses.  Page 17-20.  [[i]I see this as kind of a chicken-or-egg problem: Are the students struggling academically because they are offered few advanced courses, or are they offered few advanced courses because they're struggling academically?[/i]]
9. H/PBH schools have more discipline problems. Pages 22-25.
10. Various local school districts and the Department of Education and the DOJ have all tried to encourage diversity and prevent discrimination.  Pages 26-40.  None of the efforts have had much success.

I feel my original points remain: We as a society need to decide whether our primary goal in this area is diversity or specialization.  It would be wonderful to do both - and that's possible to some degree - but at present those two goals are often at odds with one another.

You can show me where I misunderstood.
[/quote]

You misunderstand the legal definition of discrimination, which is disparate impact.:

"The problem is not just that students are more isolated, according to the GAO, but that minority students who are concentrated in high-poverty schools don’t have the same access to opportunities as students in other schools.

High-poverty, majority-black and Hispanic schools were less likely to offer a full range of math and science courses than other schools, for example, and more likely to use expulsion and suspension as disciplinary tools, according to the GAO."

We can't continue to stick black and Hispanic kids in segregated, low performing schools in the name of "specialization," or whatever you want to call it.  Separate but Equal was thrown out a long time ago. [/quote]

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