We've despised them since we have first heard about them; laid eyes on them. They're boring and take up so much time. Tests have been around long enough for everyone to dislike them and depending on the subject, they can be dreadful. Now imagine a test that is bias. Well, not so much the test, but the schools who are giving them for admittance into their school. Now, we know that some schools require students who wish to enroll into their school, to take a test for a spot in their school, but to give a test and based on either name, gender, income or for other reasons other than test scores is uncalled and absurd! Many would believe that we would have learned by now, but racism is still out there and it affects many kids. Many kids around the country suffer from believing that they aren't good for school and turn their attention to other ideas, which is more problematic to others. Good education and teachers who care about their students will improve many factors within a child's life.
If every student was taught with the same patience and attitude, many kids would succeed and accomplish more. We wouldn't read or hear about discrimination in schools and definitely not read about a "Bias test policy" from the New York Times, written by Al Baker. Of 967 African-Americans, only 19 were given seats to Stuyvesant High School. “I refuse to believe there are only 19 brilliant African-Americans in the city; it simply cannot be the case,” Mr. Hewitt said. “It is a shameful practice and it must be changed.” (Baker, 5). With these kinds of tests, a lot of kids will go on to believe that they aren't good enough for good schools or classes and will more than likely not want to attend school or settle for low scores because it's what they know how to do. "Deidrea Miller, said the department 'has launched several initiatives to improve diversity.' Those include a free test-preparation course aimed at poor students." (Baker, 10) which we really need more of around the country so that our future children can exceed in many ways. We can't implant their minds with negative thoughts about their education. There are other means of accepting students into schools, but "New York City’s specialized schools were the only ones that used a single test as the sole admission criterion. Others use multiple factors including grades, teacher recommendations, essays and interviews." (Baker, 13), even so, with other means of admissions, students still might be discriminated against because of their ethnicity and other factors. With misleading kids and giving them false hope makes them want to do better within school or leads them to a life that they shouldn't deserve.
Noah Morrison, a student stated "The test is fine, but there need to be more opportunities for people to do well on it. There need to be more test-prep programs in underachieving middle schools with high black and Latino populations. It’s a socioeconomic problem.” (baker, 22).
Baker, Al. "Charges of Bias in Admission Test Policy at Eight Elite Public High Schools." The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 Sept. 2012. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
I have never heard of a biased test before but now I have. I could see it happening in the "richer" schools or private schools. I have always been in a public school and never really thought of going to private school. It is crazy to think that schools will actually reject a student because of the color of their skin or because they do not have enough money. Everyone deserves an education no matter what your background may be. Everyone has a right to choose what they want to do with their future and if someone wants to succeed then they should have that possibility. Really good job on your article it really opened my eyes to what may be going on in this world.
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