States Omitting Minorities' Test Scores

[Flabbergasted]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060418/ap_on_go_ot/no_child_loophole;_ylt=AhcscjnMPhbraSkmLvSioQZvzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--


Laquanya Agnew and Victoria Duncan share a desk, a love of reading and a passion for learning. But because of a loophole in the No Child Left Behind Act, one second-grader's score in Tennessee counts more than the other's. That is because Laquanya is black, and Victoria is white.

An Associated Press computer analysis has found Laquanya is among nearly 2 million children whose scores aren't counted when it comes to meeting the law's requirement that schools track how students of different races perform on standardized tests.

The AP found that states are helping public schools escape potential penalties by skirting that requirement. And minorities — who historically haven't fared as well as whites in testing — make up the vast majority of students whose scores are excluded

[jody]

1. Understand but if scores are grouped by race, how small would a group

be to exclude reporting statistical data?

Of course the problem is how do you report a biracial person, e.g. Tiger Woods with his multiracial identity of Asian, African, European and Native-American descent?

Perhaps we should group people based on skin color! :sarcasm:

[alcuno]

2. It's not the same in all states.

Another unbelievable fact from NCLB. Each state appears to have a different baseline number for having to report subgroups. The article has one state at 5 and another at 52. I hate NCLB.

[jody]

3. Sad thing is many doctoral students will use such data for papers.

The data is hopelessly contaminated and any study dependent on it in its aggregate form is also suspect.