Book explores racial gap in education

By Globe Staff, 10/12/2003

It is perhaps the most bedeviling issue in education: African-American students, even those from middle-class and affluent families, do worse than whites and Asians on national tests. In their new book, ``No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning,'' Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom write that the typical black senior in high school reads at an eighth-grade level. The husband-and-wife team dismisses those who say the races differ in intelligence. They propose several remedies long favored by conservatives, including voucher programs and giving traditional public schools the same freedom from regulation as charter schools. Their book profiles several charter schools - including South Boston Harbor Academy and Edward W. Brooke Charter School in Brighton - whose minority students score well on tests. Abigail Thernstrom, a Massachusetts Board of Education member and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, recently discussed the couple's research with the Globe.

Q. Why don't African-Americans from middle-class backgrounds do as well on standardized tests as middle-class whites and Asians?

A. Nobody has a great answer to that. ``Middle class'' may have a different meaning for blacks and whites. The white families may be more affluent. It may take more than one generation to have middle-class habits in terms of books in the household and so forth. There is clearly something very complicated going on in black families with respect to their engagement in the world of academic learning that must have deep historical roots. Blacks in this country were, well into the '60s in much of the South, in segregated and far inferior schools.

Q. You cite stellar charter schools. Broadly speaking, however, isn't research into the effectiveness of charter schools mixed?

A. You're right. It's not a magic wand. It simply opens educational opportunity. Principals can fiddle with their budgets in creative ways, hire and fire whom they please, pay their best teachers more with the money they save by having larger classes. There's a freedom to have very long days, long weeks, long years. There are some good public schools, but every one of the principals will tell you, ``I've learned to work around the system.''

Q. How is Massachusetts doing in attacking the racial gap?

A. We have not yet seen a significant closing of the gap. But there is an unprecedented seriousness about teaching all kids. I think President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act is a help, although I don't think the act will be any magic wand. Will we see the results I'm looking for? Probably not without more fundamental changes in the schools. To attract more high-quality teachers, you're going to have to change the profession, what their pay looks like, their opportunities for professional growth. As it is, it's the same job at age 25 as it is at 60, unless you go into administration.

Q. Do you anticipate charges of racial insensitivity to greet this book, or are people prepared to have a frank discussion?

A. We'll have to see. We're old enough to have been part of the civil rights movement. This issue, it seems to me, is morally simple: America is allowing a racially identifiable group of kids to be left behind, and it will affect their lifelong prospects. We have a civil rights message. If the problem doesn't get solved, then ancient inequalities are just perpetuated.

Q. You're clear that parents must engage themselves in education. Is a kid whose parents just don't care doomed to inferior education?

A. Those children may need a distinct kind of education. I asked one principal in an inner-city school, ``Give me your wish list.'' He said, ``I want to be able to keep the kids overnight. I want the building next door for the kids who really don't have a home to go to, to have a safe, warm place where they get care.'' A small minority need that care.

This interview was conducted by Globe correspondent Rich Barlow.

Why don't African-Americans from middle-class backgrounds do as well on standardized tests as middle-class whites and Asians? Nobody has a great answer to that. "Middle class" may have a different meaning for blacks and whites. The white families may be more affluent. It may take more than one generation to have middle-class habits in terms of books in the household and so forth. There is clearly something very complicated going on in black families with respect to their engagement in the world of academic learning that must have deep historical roots. Blacks in this country were, well into the '60s in much of the South, in segregated and far inferior schools.You cite stellar charter schools. Broadly speaking, however, isn't research into the effectiveness of charter schools mixed?You're right. It's not a magic wand. It simply opens educational opportunity. Principals can fiddle with their budgets in creative ways, hire and fire whom they please, pay their best teachers more with the money they save by having larger classes. There's a freedom to have very long days, long weeks, long years. There are some good public schools, but every one of the principals will tell you, "I've learned to work around the system."How is Massachusetts doing in attacking the racial gap?We have not yet seen a significant closing of the gap. But there is an unprecedented seriousness about teaching all kids. I think President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act is a help, although I don't think the act will be any magic wand. Will we see the results I'm looking for? Probably not without more fundamental changes in the schools. To attract more high-quality teachers, you're going to have to change the profession, what their pay looks like, their opportunities for professional growth. As it is, it's the same job at age 25 as it is at 60, unless you go into administration.Do you anticipate charges of racial insensitivity to greet this book, or are people prepared to have a frank discussion?We'll have to see. We're old enough to have been part of the civil rights movement. This issue, it seems to me, is morally simple: America is allowing a racially identifiable group of kids to be left behind, and it will affect their lifelong prospects. We have a civil rights message. If the problem doesn't get solved, then ancient inequalities are just perpetuated.You're clear that parents must engage themselves in education. Is a kid whose parents just don't care doomed to inferior education?Those children may need a distinct kind of education. I asked one principal in an inner-city school, "Give me your wish list." He said, "I want to be able to keep the kids overnight. I want the building next door for the kids who really don't have a home to go to, to have a safe, warm place where they get care." A small minority need that care. This interview was conducted by Globe correspondent Rich Barlow.