1. Low Income Youth are Receiving Low Test Scores Sociological Perspective

2. TESTING Children are tested more frequently now than ever before. The Stanford, Metropolitan and California Achievement Tests (SAT, MAT and CAT) are designed so only about ½ of the test takers will respond correctly to most items. The main objective is to Rank and spread out scores.

3. BIAS Norm-reference tests (SAT,MAT and CAT) are biased. The information tested is based a set of knowledge typically possessed by children with a privileged background.

4. FACTORS When comparing test scores, district to district, 4 factors account for 89% of differences in test scores. 1.# of parents living at home 2.Parents educational background 3.Type of community 4.Poverty rate Based on study of math results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress

5. PREPARATION $ When testing stakes are raised people want: 1.Preparation materials. 2.Preparation classes that teach test specific test taking skills. -This increases likely hood of success- Afforded by affluent districts, while Low-income urban districts have to sacrifice other supplies to obtain these additional classes and materials.

6. WHAT’S LOST, WHAT’S GAINED? Programs meant to promote social and moral learning/ behavior are cut. Arts, electives and sciences are cut if the subject matter is not tested.

7. DRILL AND SKILL UNDERCUTS ACTUAL LEARNING Drill and skill is the concept of testing/skills- based teaching. Dorothy Strickland, an African American professor at Rutgers University, said “Skills- based instruction, the type to which most children of color are subjected, tends to foster low-level uniformity and subverts academic potential”.

8. LOSING OUR BEST TEACHERS Experienced educators leaving the field because they are frustrated by the difficulty of high quality teaching in this current situation.

9. BUBBLES VS. IDEAS Low income urban schools are falling behind because 1. Too many bubble tests 2. Not enough meaningful conversation to help students understand ideas.

10. SOLUTIONS Expectations: Shown through a study of 426 low-income urban youth from 6-16 years old, test scores are positively affected when: 1. Mothers and teachers place emphasis on the students GPA. 2. Hold an expectation that the student will attend college.

11. Routines: Correlations have been found between mother’s reports of nightly routines and the success of urban youth. Routines include but are not limited to family dinners, homework or reading time, bedtime routines such as brushing teeth, and changing for bed. These routines create stability in the students life. This stability translates into better sleep and nutritional habits which in turn lead to higher test scores.

12. Civic Engagement: Social influences impact low- income urban communities creating a less than adequate opportunity for success. Civic engagement by all communities keeps politicians in check and ensures that resources are more evenly spread out. Spread resources will help eliminate the achievement gap, which is the disparity of educational performance between different groups of people.