I just recently took my son to Morehouse College where he is a freshman. I was proud and bragged about it for several reasons, namely because he is a legacy and that he would be one of the 3 out of 10 African American males that graduated high school and enrolled in a college or university. I was also proud that he received a full academic scholarship, a 30 score on the ACT and near perfect scores in math on both the ACT and SAT.
A report for the 2010 SAT scores was just released. It showed that the average national SAT scores for the high school class of 2010 remained basically the same as last year, but there were some notable differences between different segments of the population of test takers. Asian students had the highest scores and still show the greatest average increases when compared to any other ethnic or racial group. Unfortunately, African Americans scored the lowest.
I cannot figure this out, given Africans invented math and sciences. Many can’t solve a square root problem by hand nor tell how many elements are in the periodic table. And I do not buy the issue of racial bias in testing, for in the years prior to segregation the test scores of African Americans often exceeded the national averages of mainstream students. In addition, regardless of race, data shows that the mean scores for students from wealthy families remain among the highest of all.
Students reporting family incomes of more than $200,000 a year reported a mean score of 1721. The average score for Asians and African Americans was 1636 and 1277 respectfully. Last year, the reading score for African Americans on the SAT was 429, a full 99 points lower than the average for white students.
And while white students’ scores were flat, the average score for black students fell. For African American males, math and writing scores were 428 and 420. More troubling is that while the average scores for other races has remained level or increased, the average score for African Americans continues to decline.
It is obvious that African Americans do not value education as much as other things. We can remember the lyrics of every Jay-Z song and name every fashion designer in the world, but we cannot sit down to read a book or help our kids with homework. These differences in scores are not related to racial bias in testing but rather apathy, a reduced emphasis on education and many of us watching television more than developing our minds. –torrance stephens, ph.d.
