Veda Jairrels, JD, PhD, is a lawyer and a professor of education at Clark Atlanta University. She lives near Atlanta.

African Americans and Standardized Tests

The Real Reasons for Low Test Scores

By Veda Jairrels

African American Images

Copyright © 2009 Veda Jairrels, J.D., Ph.D.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-934155-15-8

Contents

Acknowledgments,
Preface,
Introduction: Why African Americans Usually Score the Lowest on Standardized Tests (Just Keeping It Real),
1. Who Cares About Standardized Tests Anyway?,
2. The African American Past and the Impact on Reading: From Africa to America,
3. Let’s Get Technical: What Are the Scores of African Americans on Standardized Tests?,
4. What Causes These Score Differences?,
5. Literacy and the Criminal Justice System,
6. Profiles of African American Examinees Who Excelled Above the Mean,
7. Using Common Sense,
8. What Can We Do? It May Take a Village,
9. Community Projects and Resources That Promote Reading,
10. Final Thoughts,
Appendix A,
Appendix B,
Appendix C,
References,

CHAPTER 1

Who Cares About Standardized Tests Anyway?

African American children and adults are often kept out of educational programs, schools, universities, and jobs because of low standardized test scores. Standardized test scores are used as indicators of academic quality, achievement, and knowledge. For example, one purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act is to improve the academic achievement of all students. To comply with the law, school districts use standardized tests to assess and provide evidence of academic achievement (Yell, 2006).

Standardized tests are sometimes used to determine bonus pay and cash awards for teachers and students. The Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science (AAIMS) identified 11 schools in Arkansas with poor Advanced Placement (AP) participation rates (Hermes, 2007). Students from those schools who score at least a 3 on the AP tests (which are standardized) and their teachers will receive cash awards.

The AAIMS also identified schools whose AP participation could be improved. Teachers at those schools will receive cash awards if more students “score well” (Hermes, 2007). Similar incentive programs regarding AP exams have been implemented in Texas and New Mexico (Jackson, 2007; Schmidt, 2007). In the New York City public schools, students are also being paid to achieve on standardized tests and more than $500,000 has already been distributed (Medina, 2008b).

Louisiana school officials recommended that standardized tests be used to determine bonus pay. The Recovery School District, which operates 30 public schools in New Orleans, proposed a plan in which support staff, teachers, and principals would receive bonus pay if schools achieve certain teest scores. The bonuses range from $1,500 to $5,000 (Associated Press, 2007).

In the New York City public schools, researchers are looking at teacher effectiveness at 140 schools by studying students’ improvement on standardized test scores (Medina, 2008a). Some participating principals did not inform their teachers that they were being evaluated in this manner. Furthermore, school officials mentioned that they may use the data to make decisions regarding teacher pay and tenure. The teachers’ union and politicians immediately resisted this idea (“Albany Fails Again,” 2008). They also said that they may make the findings about individual teachers public.

In some school districts in Texas, students who pass the state mandated standardized tests are given days off from school. The students who do not pass receive more attention from teachers (Chavez, 2008).

The emphasis on standardized tests may, however, pose additional problems. Some teachers and other school personnel may be encouraged to cheat. In Florida, 50 school staff members were disciplined for cheating or making errors during test administration. Ten teachers in the 10 years prior to 2008 lost their teacher certification permanently (Kaczor, 2008).

Not all educators welcome the emphasis on standardized tests. A teacher in the state of Washington refused to administer the Washington Assessment of Student Learning because he deemed it emotionally and academically harmful to students. He received a nine day suspension without pay for his stand (James, 2008).

Standardized tests such as the SAT and the American College Test (ACT) are used by colleges and universities for admissions purposes. Some researchers argue that highly selective universities place too much emphasis on college admission tests (Schmidt, 2008). In the case of home-schooled students, however, test scores provide a means by which universities can compare their academic achievement with other students. These students usually do not receive grades or recommendations from third parties, such as teachers. Therefore, in addition to the SAT and ACT, some colleges require home-schooled students to take at least two or more SAT II subject tests (Wasley, 2007).

Even college-bound athletes must receive certain scores on the SAT or ACT in order to play sports their freshman year and receive athletic scholarships. For Division I universities, a sliding scale is used and the higher the student’s high school GPA in core courses, the lower the SAT/ACT requirement, and vice versa. A student with a 2.4 GPA in core courses would need an 860 on the Critical Reading and Mathematics sections of the SAT or an ACT sum score of 71. In Division II colleges, a student needs a combined SAT of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68 in order to meet academic eligibility requirements. A sliding scale is not used in Division II colleges (Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete, n.d.).

Educational institutions are not alone in using standardized test scores. For example, when recruits sign up to join the military, they take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), which consists of standardized tests in eight areas, including word knowledge and paragraph comprehension (ASVAB Career Exploration Program, n.d.). A score derived from the reading and math subtests determines whether recruits are allowed to join their military branch of choice. The Air Force requires the highest score and the Army the lowest. The test scores also determine whether recruits can pursue their chosen careers once in the military (The ASVAB Explained, n.d.). More job opportunities are open to those with higher scores. Test scores can also affect pay, because enlistment bonuses are dependent on the military job.

Sometimes standardized tests must be passed in order to obtain certain jobs. In many states, teachers, regardless of how many degrees they have, cannot become certified unless they pass certain standardized tests. Most states have a standardized test as a component of the bar exam that lawyers must pass in order to receive a license to practice law. Applicants for the police force have to take civil service exams that often have a standardized reading comprehension section.

I assert that the gatekeeper approach to standardized testing is unwise, and I do not always support limitations based on test scores. There are others who agree with me. For example, educators, psychologists, and university administrators at Tufts University developed optional assessments to measure other characteristics, such as creativity, and have used them to supplement the traditional admissions procedure (Sternberg, 2007). This supplement increased the diversity of their entering freshman class. In fact, over 750 universities have some type of test optional policy (Perez, 2008).

Administrators at Northeastern University devised an alternative admissions process for students who are the first in their families to attend college and who have endured substantial hardships. During the evaluation process, the students complete a personality inventory, are interviewed, and participate in role-playing exercises. Although these students averaged about 300 points below the median SAT score at Northeastern, more than half of the students in the first cohort had at least a B average after their freshman year (Hoover, 2007). Students who do not score well on standardized tests but perform well in the classroom are the types of students that many K-12 teachers have seen throughout their teaching careers.

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) established the Commission on the Use of Standardized Tests in Undergraduate Admission. The commission is charged with exploring the use of testing for college admissions. This organization, like Sternberg (2007) and Northeastern University, is questioning what other types of assessments can be used to provide additional information about applicants. NACAC acknowledged in a report, however, that 60 percent of colleges surveyed responded that the ACT and SAT test results were “considerably important” (Farrell & Hoover, 2007, p. A 35).

Although I applaud the efforts of these institutions and hope others will follow suit, I remain a realist. At this time, I cannot stop the use of standardized tests, and I do believe they will be used for many years to come. Even if standardized tests were eliminated for college admissions, they would still probably exist for certain jobs and K-12 schools. Elementary and secondary schools have added many standardized tests to their academic program in the past two years (“Making a Profit,” 2007). Therefore, increasing the scores of African American students on such tests is critical.

African American children and adults should at least be able to earn scores that will not hinder them from achieving their educational and career goals. In addition, I believe in the power and value of reading for human development, even without its effect on standardized test scores (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998; National Endowment for the Arts, 2007). Long-term reading beginning at birth (i.e., parents reading daily to their children) must become an integral part of the entire African American community.

CHAPTER 2

The African American Past and the Impact on Reading: From Africa to America

In order to discuss the literacy heritage of African Americans, it is necessary to return to the continent of our origin and explore the status of literacy there. Now the last thing I want to do is spread misinformation about Africa. According to John O. Hunwick, an African history scholar, many may think of Africa as a continent whose heritage is steeped in an oral tradition without books or reading (Castillo, 2002). There are, however, hundreds of thousands of written manuscripts in Africa that are centuries old. These manuscripts are written in Arabic, and some are written in African languages using Arabic lettering. Another scholar, Stephanie Diakite, stated that “when much of Europe was in its Dark Ages, Africa was recording its literate history” (Castillo, p. A26, 2002).

These scholars contend that many slaves brought to America were literate and that one of the earliest slave autobiographies was written in Arabic by a slave named Omar ibn Sayyid (Castillo, 2002). Obviously, this literacy in Arabic did not flourish among the slaves. There was no need for Arabic, nor the time or the means to teach it.

These same scholars also contend, however, that the majority of West Africans were illiterate, and I have found no evidence to suggest that a familial habit of reading developed throughout West Africa. I assume that at least some Africans who were illiterate were also enslaved and sent to America. Therefore, both Africans who were literate in Arabic and those who were not literate at all found themselves living as slaves in a hostile and racist America.

What Happened in America?

Proponents of slavery advanced several arguments to support human bondage. Some argued that the African was intellectually and biological inferior, that slavery was necessary to spread Christianity to the savages, and that the slaves were needed for the economic development of the country (Franklin, & Moss, 2005). George Fitzhugh, a southern attorney and the son of a physician/planter, said that slavery prevented the “Negro” from becoming a burden on society and that freedom would be the Black man’s curse (Fitzhugh, 1857). These theories certainly did nothing to promote the education of African slaves. The theories of Fitzhugh and others like him affected the slaves and their descendants in the areas of labor, civil rights, and education well into the 20th century. Indeed, some would argue these theories are still alive today.

In accordance with the belief system of those who supported slavery, as a general rule, slaves were not taught to read or write. In some states, educating slaves was against the law (McCague, 1972). Franklin and Moss (2005) contend, however, that these laws were routinely ignored by at least some slave owners in the South. Although the laws were effective, slaves violated the law at every opportunity (Author Q & A. n.d.). In the 1930s, John Field, a former slave, informed a Works Public Administration interviewer that the slaves wanted to learn to read and write, but any owner caught teaching a slave to read could be fined $50 and put in jail for a year (Home Box Office, 2002).

Even with the willingness of some slave owners to violate the law, becoming literate was an arduous task. For example, Frederick Douglass (1845) stated in his narrative that his mistress taught him the alphabet. Under orders from her husband, however, she ceased instruction. Her husband said, “If you teach that n — how to read, there would be no keeping him.” After that, his mistress was determined to prevent any attempts at further education. If she saw him with a newspaper, she became enraged and closely watched him. Douglass then made friends with every White boy possible and persuaded them to teach him to read. He took bread from the house to share with poor White boys in exchange for their teaching him how to read.

Franklin and Moss (2005) quote an estimate that in Georgia, 5,000 out of 400,000 slaves were literate. If applied to slaves everywhere, that would mean approximately 1.25 percent of the slave population, or less than two slaves out of 100, were literate. Another estimate was that in 1865, 10 percent of African Americans in the South were literate (Fairclough, 2007). Clearly, given the legal restrictions and racist traditions and attitudes of the era, the majority of African Americans were illiterate. Slaves did not have the time or the means to engage in reading for pleasure.

After slavery ended, most African Americans remained in the South. Schools and libraries were not available to them. The schools that were available varied in quality. One historian who chronicled the conditions of these early schools noted that the Ku Klux Klan burned down schools and that White and Black teachers of African American students were sometimes harassed and murdered (Fairclough, 2007). Illiteracy was even a problem among teachers. In some schools, former Confederate soldiers served as teachers and some White teachers called their African American students the “n —” word, beat them, and made no effort to provide adequate instruction. According to Fairclough, education for many African Americans in the South remained virtually unchanged from 1870 to 1940.

The difficulty African Americans faced in obtaining an education in the first half of the 20th century is illustrated by the ordeal my parents experienced in their quest for education. My father was fortunate enough to attend a Rosenwald School in Randolph County, Alabama, which served students in the first through eighth grades.

Julius Rosenwald was a Jewish man who collaborated with Booker T. Washington to build schools for African Americans, using the concept of matching grants. African Americans in rural areas had to contribute financially, the local school board (White controlled, of course) had to agree to operate the school, and the Rosenwald Foundation usually paid one-fifth of the total cost of construction (Hanchett, n.d.). These schools were built in 15 states, which were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia (The Rosenwald Schools Initiative, n.d).

I am amazed that rural and often poor African Americans raised a total of $4.7 million to build primarily schools, workshops, and teacher housing. The Rosenwald Fund donated $4.3 million (Herbert S. Ford Museum, n.d.). These schools also received donations from concerned White community members and money from tax funds. In fact, officials gave a total $18.1 million from tax funds over the years for construction and upkeep of the schools (The Rosenwald Schools Initiative, n.d).

My great-grandfather agreed to donate the land for my father’s school, and he and another man borrowed $600 to purchase the materials to build the school. The Randolph County School Board and the Rosenwald Foundation also gave $600 each for construction materials. In order to pay for labor costs, some of the African American men in the community, including my grandfather, donated $50 each. School construction was completed in 1920 (Randolph County Heritage Book Committee, 2000). The school did not have desks, but eventually the students built their own desks.

The acquisition of a high school education was even more difficult for my father and other African Americans. In Randolph County, there was only one high school for African Americans. This high school was located 29 miles from my father’s home. Although there was bus transportation, the bus stop was located 12 miles from my father’s home. My grandparents, like many African Americans of the time, did not have a car. Fortunately, my great- grandfather lived in the town where the school was located, and my father lived with him during the school year. African Americans who had no relatives in the town and who could not afford to board with families were just out of luck. If my father had been White, a bus would have picked him up at his home and driven him to the nearest high school for Whites, which was much closer to his home than the one for African Americans. Alabama never made an attempt to provide my father with a “separate but equal education.”

(Continues…)Excerpted from African Americans and Standardized Tests by Veda Jairrels. Copyright © 2009 Veda Jairrels, J.D., Ph.D.. Excerpted by permission of African American Images.
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