FCAT indicates minorities lag far behind in school

District suggests scores reflect wealth, poverty

By Kimberly C. Moore
FLORIDA TODAY

: "At Cocoa High School, 34 percent of the white students tested could read at or above grade level. Only eight percent of the 245 black students who took the FCAT at Cocoa High are reading proficiently -- meaning 92 percent failed the FCAT reading exam in 2003. "

The Princeton Review has an online test prep section for everything from the PSAT to the GMAT (and some I've never heard of).

Registration is required but only took couple minutes; the usual name, address, and email are required.

I started taking the SAT. The instructions were easy to follow and if memory serves (it's been a long time since I tested) it's pretty representative of the real thing. I stopped and marked my place to continue later.

I'll post the results here when I'm done - provided I don't embarrass myself.

-Barry Wynn

TCPalm: Local News - NAACP raises issues with state education

Victor Hart Sr., local NAACP president, plans to meet with district educators to talk about the achievement gap on state assessment tests between black and white students.

By Colleen Wixon staff writer
August 29, 2003: "NDIAN RIVER COUNTY - On the 40th anniversary of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic march in Washington, the national NAACP filed a federal complaint against the Florida education department Thursday, alleging intentional discrimination against black students."

Scores rise, even as more take SAT | csmonitor.com: "...The Bush administration's signature No Child Left Behind Act mandates annual testing in reading and mathematics for grades 3 to 8, with penalties for schools that do not demonstrate 'adequate yearly progress.'

YET the states that were poster children for this new approach, Texas and Florida, register only modest, single-digit gains, whereas some states that do not emphasize high stakes tests show gains in the double digits.

'Texas and Florida have been treading water for years, while states like Vermont are moving ahead much faster than the national average,' says Bob Schaeffer, director of the National Center for Fair & Open testing (FairTest), a national advocacy group that is opposed to high-stakes testing. 'It undermines the claim that high-stakes tests improve overall education quality.'"

Why girls score low on SATs baffling: "Carolyn Pasanek, director and owner of Mt. Lebanon Academy, which offers such classes, said she hasn't seen evidence of a gender gap. But, she added, 'I think girls in some respects tend to be more emotional, and anxiety does influence test scores,' she said.

And while she is the first to say her prep courses work, she admits even the relatively low $340 that she charges is generally out of reach for low-income families -- although some scholarship money is available.

'Underprivileged children are at a tremendous disadvantage for this test,' said Pasanek."

SAT Scores Creep Higher:Participation Rises; Urban Students Lag

August 27, 2003
By ROBERT A. FRAHM, Courant Staff Writer

"In Connecticut, black students averaged 835 on the SAT and Hispanic students averaged 882, compared with 1058 for white students and 1075 for Asian students."

Music Education May Be 'Left Behind' Under New Federal Requirements: "'The law clearly identifies the arts as a core academic subject,' explains American Music Conference Executive Director Rob Walker. 'However, the requirements for standardized testing in literacy, math and science are leading local districts to divert resources away from other subjects. As a result, the arts are truly being left behind. We fear most of all that music, which is a vital learning pathway for children's success in school, is being sacrificed for shorter-term testing results. We're talking about what kids need to be successful learners.'"

News: Public schools beat private on SAT tests (captimes.com): "Wisconsin public high schools this year widened the lead they have on private institutions when it comes to graduates' scores on the SAT, the college entrance exam favored on the nation's coasts. "

'Scholarships for Everyone' National Campaign Aims to Increase College Access: "With widespread adoption of college savings plans, historic lows in student loan interest rates, and new trends in financial aid, it is more important than ever that parents and students understand their options, explains Fabrizio Balestri, president and CEO of Student Loan Xpress, Inc. 'The Scholarships for Everyone! National Campaign comes at a crucial time for families planning for college,' says Balestri. 'Ben's heartfelt mission is consistent with ours -- helping students achieve their educational dreams by giving them the tools and resources that they need."

allAfrica.com: Uganda: Japan Suspends Scholarships

Comment: This is the 3rd cite I've seen for this story in the last 3 days. Posted only because it makes me laugh.

Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund Selects First Member Colleges And Universities to Benefit from Microsoft Technology Grant: "The Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund Inc., named for the late U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice, is the only national organization of its type that provides merit-based scholarships and programmatic support to students attending the nation's public Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It also provides capacity building support to its 45 member schools, which educate 215,000 students annually. Since its inception in 1987, the Fund has awarded more than $20 million in scholarships and programmatic support to more than 4,400 students. TMSF also provides internship programs and joins corporate and foundation partners in providing leadership training and support to students preparing for undergraduate and professional schools."

USA Funds Awards $408,750 in Scholarships to Texas Residents: "INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Funds®, the nation's leading education-loan guarantor, has awarded 277 new and renewal scholarships totaling $408,750 to deserving college-bound students in Texas. The scholarships assist students in financial need -- particularly students who are members of ethnic-minority groups or are physically disabled -- as they finance their higher education."

ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
US education aping that of 'Old Europe'

By J. ZIMMERMAN
Special to the Los Angeles Times

"Remember Old Europe? For the most part, Bush and Rumsfeld would prefer that you forgot it. On issues from arms control and the environment to the World Court and the war in Iraq, the White House has repeatedly flouted or ignored our putative allies across the Atlantic.

When it comes to education, however, the United States has moved in a remarkably European direction. Bush and his followers have demanded public vouchers for parochial schools, a mainstay of many European democracies for a century. Most of all, though, both the federal government and the states are requiring new high-stakes tests that put Old Europe to shame. "

Spokane Journal of Business - The Business Newspaper For The Inland Northwest :

Affirmative-action software eases tough task
Work of Spokane nonprofit helps businesses build protection from lawsuits
-By  Megan Cooley

"While the country grapples with the merits and methods of affirmative action, a Spokane-based nonprofit organization is helping companies comply with the equal-employment regulations that exist today"

McKinney Courier-Gazette Online - Dwindling funds affect scholarships
By FARRAH CROUCH McKinney Courier-Gazette: "The frustration of endowing a scholarship reaches the students, the colleges and the endowment donor.

With interest rates decreasing, scholarships have suffered from lack of funds. Colleges who were giving yearly scholarships of $1,000 to many students are now only giving $500 semester scholarships to a few select students."

BlackMountainNews.com - No Child Left Behind impacts education in Buncombe County

College Aid Warning: "The company is National Student Financial Aid, or NSFA. They want students to pay for something that should be free. And they target the most vulnerable: low-income minority families who know the least, but want the best for their kids. After a lecture, families are led to tables for a one-on-one consultation with a 'counselor.' "

The Princeton Review
An Online College Resource

FAFSA on the Web - U.S. Department of Education
FREE APLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID

JS Online: Can't fault the parents who want to shout their daughter's achievements from rooftops

"John Ogbu, an anthropologist at the University of California at Berkeley who has studied student achievement over the past 30 years, says that black parents aren't doing enough to guide their children to academic success."

The Charleston Gazette - News - 25 percent lost Promise scholarships
" Sparse course loads and low grades cost 900 students free rides
-By Tara Tuckwiller STAFF WRITER " Click here for more information of West Virginia's Promise Scholarships

WXXI: Boy in two hoods (2003-08-12)

Guardian Unlimited Books | By genre | The biggest brother: interview with Henry Louis Gates, black America's foremost intellectual
"'My TV series is really about that very dilemma. What I call the black cultural nationalist imaginary - the belief that we are all united because we are black and descended from slaves and have a common enemy called 'whitey' - no longer applies. It's not white versus black any more, it's haves versus have-nots. Unless the black middle-classes unite to promote the interests of the black underclass, tension between them is inevitable. What we, the black middle class have to do, is think of a strategy to avert that.' He does not, though, enlighten me as to what that strategy might be."

Middlemen getting piece of school vouchers
-By Kimberly Miller and S.V. Date, Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Sunday, August 10, 2003

The Index Journal -- News Story - State, federal mandates challenge local schools during money crunch

“We’re not really, quite frankly, concentrating on the specifics of No Child Left Behind, because it is so unrealistic,” Hunter said. “With such limited resources, it’s really frustrating to teachers. It’s overwhelming to teachers.
“We’re not frustrating ourselves trying to do the impossible,” he said.

WXXI: The school that Lorén built (2003-07-29)
"'It was the perfect story of the low expectations white teachers have for native American children,' says Spears. 'Obedience was the most they expected from me.'
"

Courts to Universities: Discriminate but Obfuscate
by Robert A. Levy
Robert A. Levy is senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute. This article is scheduled to appear in the August 2003 issue of Liberty magazine."

Comment: Mr Levy says a lot I disagree with but he brings up some issues that I believe need to be discussed openly - and hopefully - put to rest.

Grand Valley Lanthorn - Fishing for minorities: "Michigan university admissions compete for select minority students"

THE ARCHIVES ARE BACK UP AND RUNNING

Had to change the template to get them