School board misinformed on achievement gap

Guilford County Schools is making an effort to close the “achievement gap” between black males and other students. As observers of public education have known for years, black males consistently score lower than their counterparts on standardized tests, drop out of school at higher rates, and get suspended more often. The system’s willingness to address the problem is laudable, but for several reasons, GCS is likely to fail.

Two weeks ago we learned that short-term suspensions declined slightly in the last academic year, “but the percentage of suspensions among black students remained about the same as the previous two years.”

According to the district’s hearing officer, Chessely Robinson, the establishment is bewildered by the fact that the racial breakdown of suspensions remained the same: “The true question to answer is, why is that number not more equitable? We’re not really getting an answer on that.”

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School board misinformed on achievement gap
news-record.com