Minority students face inequities in academic rigor, teacher quality & discipline

Minority students face an uphill battle in school for a plethora of reasons, according to new data by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Using data from a national survey of more than 72,000 schools that serve 85 percent of the nation’s schoolchildren, the data showed that minority students face a vast number of inequities in education, ranging from the quality and pay of their teachers to the harsher way in which they are disciplined, when compared to their white counterparts.

Ed Department officials say the data will play a critical role in addressing the problems found in the survey.

“These new data categories are a powerful tool to aid schools and districts in crafting policy, and can unleash the power of research to advance reform in schools,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali.

The survey covered a wide range of issues, including school finance, student retention, career and college readiness, and school finance. For the first time, the data set includes a detailed rundown of discipline data, including in-school suspensions, school-related arrests and referrals to law enforcement.

According to an Ed Department press release, some of the key findings of the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) report include:

• African-American students, particularly males, are far more likely to be suspended or expelled from school than their peers.  Black students make up 18% of the students in the CRDC sample, but 35% of the students suspended once, and 39% of the students expelled.
• Students learning English (ELL) were 6% of the CRDC high school enrollment, but made up 12% of students retained.
• Only 29% of high-minority high schools offered calculus, compared to 55% of schools with the lowest black and Hispanic enrollment.
• Teachers in high-minority schools were paid $2,251 less per year than their colleagues in teaching in low-minority schools in the same district.

The nation’s schools chief, Arne Duncan, says the data serves as a reminder of the real inequities present in education and should be a motivating factor for change.

“The power of the data is not only in the numbers themselves, but in the impact it can have when married with the courage and the will to change,” Duncan said. ”The undeniable truth is that the everyday educational experience for many students of color violates the principle of equity at the heart of the American promise. It is our collective duty to change that.”