Cayata Dixon
Thu, 06 Sep 2001 12:18:55 -0700
Race, economic gaps in scores frustrate educators
September 5, 2001
BY ROSALIND ROSSI EDUCATION REPORTER
More than three times as many whites as blacks scored at or above grade
level this year on math tests given to the state's public school eighth
graders.
The gap was almost as great along economic lines, with 2-1/2 times more
middle- or upper-class eighth graders scoring at grade level in math
compared to low-income ones.
For State Supt. Glenn "Max'' McGee, who announced last week he will bow out
of the top state schools post at year's end, those results were the "most
disappointing'' of all the Illinois Standards Achievement Test scores
released Tuesday.
The economic and racial divide in achievement is "intolerable'' and
"inexcusable,'' and springs from a gap in resources the Legislature has yet
to solve, McGee said. "It simply is not fair.''
One achievement gap closed slightly from last year--the gulf among some
racial groups in third-grade reading--but only because 10 percent fewer
white students hit or exceeded the state standard for grade level compared
to last.
"That's not the direction we want to see it close,'' McGee said.
McGee's boss, State Board of Education Chairman Ron Gidwitz, said of the
results: "None of them are great. That's what I think. We have a long way to
go. We're making some progress in some areas but unfortunately we aren't
making enough progress fast enough.
Statewide, ISAT reading scores were unchanged to down, writing scores were
mostly down, science was unchanged to up, and math and social science were
up in all grades tested. The state's public school third-, fifth- and
eighth-graders were tested in April in reading, writing and math, while only
fourth- and seventh-graders took science and social science tests. High
school results in the state's new Prairie State Achievement Exam are due out
Thursday.
McGee called the ISAT scores overall "mixed,'' with math showing
"significant'' progress, but reading and writing scores "generally flat''
and "disappointing.''
In third-grade reading, considered a key predictor of future school success,
a third of students fell below the state's standard for grade level, the
same percent as last year. In eighth-grade math, where students must make
the transition into more abstract algebra, half the state's students fell
below grade level, an improvement from last year.
This year, for the first time, the state provided a racial, economic and
gender breakdown of students tested in ISAT. It showed Asian students posted
the highest scores in all subjects and grades, followed by whites, then
Hispanics and then blacks. Lower-income students, as gauged by the percent
on free or reduced lunch, always performed worse than middle- to
upper-income ones.
At Chicago's Beethoven Elementary in the Robert Taylor Homes, students walk
home to tougher surroundings than suburban students, Principal Frances Oden
said.
"A lot of kids in Robert Taylor do exceptionally well,'' said Oden, whose
school last year outposted the city average, but not the state's, on some
ISAT tests. "Sometimes the environment does not lend itself to children
being as successful as if they were living in Highland Park, where they
could walk to the library if they wanted to, have someone at home read to
them, make sure their homework is done. They have the money to afford
tutors."
Gidwitz questioned how much of the difference was also due to the curriculum
offered low-income and some minority students.
"Did the African-American and did the Hispanic students have the same
opportunity to take the same core curriculum that the white and Asian
students had in eighth-grade math?'' he asked. "Did they have the
opportunity to take algebra?"
Gidwitz said he was most concerned that on some tests, students were
backsliding. Two years ago, 74 percent of third graders met or exceeded
state standards for grade level in math. But this year, when that same group
was tested as fifth graders, only 61 percent hit at least grade level.
Some speculated the scores could be skewed by a later test date, which gave
students six extra weeks of classes. Others pointed to a new scoring system
which gave students credit for partially right answers on two reading and
math questions affecting 15 percent of each score.
"When you make big changes in tests, it does change the scores and it makes
the trend lines questionable," said Tim Shanahan, director of the Center for
Literacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
But state school board spokesman Wade Nelson didn't buy it: "We believe
these tests are accurately scored and give an accurate reflection of student
achievement."
Illinois Standards Achievement Test
Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards.
Reading
Grade 3
Grade 5
Grade
8
All Students
62%
59%
66%
Gender
Female
65
60
67
Male
60
57
64
Race
Asian
81
78
82
Black
33
32
41
Hispanic
47
37
48
White
75
72
76
Mathematics
Grade
3
Grade
5
Grade
8
All Students
74%
61%
50%
Gender
Female
74
62
50
Male
74
61
50
Race
Asian
92
84
76
Black
44
30
19
Hispanic
63
41
29
White
87
76
64
Source: Illinois State Board of Education
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