More than half of minority teacher applicants fail test
BOSTON--More than half of black and Hispanic applicants for teaching jobs in Massachusetts have failed a crucial state licensing test.
Since the start of the test nearly a decade ago, 52 percent of Hispanics and 54 percent of blacks failed the writing portion of the test compared to a 23 percent failure rate among white applicants.
Blacks and Hispanics also fall behind white applicants in other test subjects like English, history and math.
Education officials say the gap is making it harder to bring more diversity to the state's teaching ranks.
Chris Anderson, chairman of the state Board of Education, said he's willing to consider other ways of assessing teachers, as long as standards remain high.
"There's no reason to have any barriers to quality teachers if we don't need them," Anderson told The Boston Sunday Globe. "At the same time, we need to have accountability and assurance that there are basic abilities for any new teacher in Massachusetts."
The problem is so persistent that a special state task force of teachers, state education officials and hiring directors has been set up to find out why minorities don't do better on the tests.
Sally Diaz, a vice president at Emmanuel College in Boston and a member of the panel, said one test shouldn't make or break a career.
"One of the fallouts which is particularly upsetting in our experience across the colleges is fewer and fewer students of color are even going into teaching because word has gotten out that these tests are very difficult for them," she said.
Adding to the worries are stricter federal rules focused on improving teacher quality.
Under the 2001 federal law, states must prove their teachers have met a competency bar set by the state. Massachusetts school districts risk losing federal funding if they aren't making progress toward licensing all their teachers.
Some deans of education schools are raising questions about whether the lower results among minority applicants shows the tests are culturally biased and whether the quality of education that minority applicants receive is good enough.
Some minority applicants say the tests includes questions that white applicants and those with liberal arts backgrounds can more readily identify with, such as questions about ancient literature or investing in the stock market.
A Cambridge lawyer said he's planning to file a class action lawsuit against the state Department of Education and the testing company on behalf of three minority teachers who failed the test multiple times.
Quoted from http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/08/19/more_than_half_of_minority_teacher_applicants_fail_test/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Globe+West:
More than half of minority teacher applicants fail test - Boston.com
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