Social Policy | |
Brookings Institute Article: Racial Gap In Test Scores Narrowing |
There is a narrowing gap between African-Americans and European-Americans in
average scores on
tests measuring vocabulary, reading and math skills, as well as tests that claim to measure
scholastic
aptitude and intelligence. Political scientists Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips of the Harvard University
Kennedy
School of Government say the black-white gap in test scores has narrowed since 1970 due
to increasing
black test scores, not falling ones for whites:
The gap isn't due to innate differences in ability, since Stanford-Binet test scores (IQ) have risen dramatically among all racial groups since the 1930s. Nor is it explainable by poverty, racial segregation or inadequate funding of black schools:
Also, lower scores among children raised by single mothers almost disappear after taking account of the fact that single mothers come from less advantaged families, have lower test scores and complete less schooling than married women. More likely, say Jencks and Meridith, the differences have to do with more difficult- to-measure things such as the way family members interact and how parents react to failure or success. Source: Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips (Harvard University), "The Black-White Test Score Gap," Brookings Review, Spring 1998, Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, (202) 797-6000. For text http://www.brook.edu/PUB/REVIEW/spring98/jencks.HTM |