The State of Public Education in North Carolina

EDN 200

November 20, 2006

Today’s Plan

• Book Report Comments/Activities

• NC Information

• PDK/Gallup Survey

Kozol Comments

• Principal and Principle

• Separate but Equal– Plessy versus Ferguson (1896)

• Upheld a Louisiana law that races should ride in separate railroad cars and makes it a crime for citizens of one race to enter cars deemed for the other race

Plessy Continued

• From Majority Opinion• “Laws permitting, and even requiring, their separation in places

where they are liable to be brought into contact do not necessarily imply the inferiority of either race to the other, and have been generally, if not universally, recognized as within the competency of the state legislatures in the exercise of their police power. The most common instance of this is connected with the establishment of separate schools for white and colored children, which has been held to be a valid exercise of the legislative power even by courts of States where the political rights of the colored race have been longest and most earnestly enforced…”

Plessy Continued

• From Lone Dissenter (Justice Harlan)• “Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates

classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man, and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved. It is, therefore, to be regretted that this high tribunal, the final expositor of the fundamental law of the land, has reached the conclusion that it is competent for a State to regulate the enjoyment by citizens of their civil rights solely upon the basis of race.”

Brown vs. Board (1954) • Separate Schools for Black and White• Topeka, Kansas: Linda Brown forced to walk

1 mile to her school - white school around corner

• Case Named for Her Father - Oliver Brown– Actually there were almost 200 plaintiffs from 4

states & capital (KS, VA, SC, DE, and D.C.)

Brown vs. Board

• "...if the colored children are denied the experience in school of associating with white children, who represent 90 percent of our national society in which these colored children must live, then the colored child's curriculum is being greatly curtailed. The Topeka curriculum or any school curriculum cannot be equal under segregation” - Hugh Speer

• Kenneth Clark’s Doll Experiment• Topeka School Board Argued:

– Schools reflected society and great African-Americans (i.e. Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and George Washington Carver) were products of separate schools

• Appealed to Supreme Court

Brown vs. Board

• Unanimous Court Decision Read by Earl Warren (5/17/54)• "We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of

children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities?

• We believe that it does...We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.”

Clark’s Doll Study

• A Girl Like Me• A modern day study

What do we really value?

• Should racial integration be an explicit societal goal?

• Would you be satisfied if the resources, facilities, and instructional personnel were equal between urban and suburban schools?

• Do you believe this equalization of resources would lead to social integration?

• Should schools be used to engineer societal integration?

Education in NC

• Message from the Governor:• We continue to make great progress in education in

North Carolina. Our students are performing above the southeastern and national averages on national exams in reading and math, they continue to increase their scores on the SAT, and North Carolina remains a national leader in sending our graduates on to colleges and universities. To continue this progress, we must stay focused on ensuring that all students are well prepared for the demands of college and skilled work in the 21st Century.

Fordham Study (2006)

Based primarily on the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), specifically the reading, mathematics, and science proficiency of low-income, African-American, and Hispanic students.

INDICATOR NATIONWIDE DATA Black (Percentage of students at or above proficient)

•4th graders in Reading (2005 NAEP) 12 •8th graders in Math (2005 NAEP) 8

•8th graders in Science (2005 NAEP) 7 Hispanic (Percentage of students at or above proficient)

•4th graders in Reading (2005 NAEP) 15 •8th graders in Math (2005 NAEP) 13

•8th graders in Science (2005 NAEP) 10 Low-Income (Percentage of students at or above proficient)

•4th graders in Reading (2005 NAEP) 15 •8th graders in Math (2005 NAEP) 13 •8th graders in Science (2005 NAEP) 12

Percentage of high school students who have passed 14.1 (with a score of 3 or above) at least one AP exam (College Board,2006)

Percentage of black students who graduate on time 51.6 from high school (Diplomas Count,2006)

Percentage of Hispanic students who graduate on time 55.6 from high school (Diplomas Count,2006)

Access the Fordham report for yourself: Click Here

• Fordham (2006)

• Achievement Trends: Thirty-one states have made at least "minimal" progress among poor or minority students.

Fordam (2006)

Education Reform Grades

Other Mean Measures

• SAT Scores

• ACT Scores

• Dropout Rates

What Metrics Matter to You?

• You have spent a semester wrestling with these questions. Tell us what matters to you?

•PDK Survey

•Thank you