Defense of Gompers

An article published recently (“Study Indicates ‘Magnet’ Pupils Given Higher Grades at Gompers,” Sept. 19) continues to report allegations that the faculty at Gompers Secondary School is routinely giving lower grades to minority students, namely blacks and Hispanics, while giving inflated grades to majority students.

Critics claim that evidence stems from two sources. The first is a standardized achievement test--the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS). The second is raw data supplied by the school district’s evaluation department. Each of these sources seems to support the erroneous claims.

The Times article suggests that despite equal success levels from both groups on standardized tests, the grades blacks and Hispanics get are lower than those of whites. There are two compelling reasons why this seems so.

The district has mandated that Southeast San Diego teachers administer the Achievement Goals Program (AGP) to elementary and junior high school students in minority-isolated schools. The program is designed specifically to raise scores on the CTBS test and give every student an experience of success. The methodology is the problem. The program uses a multiple-choice format that requires lower-level thinking skills. We spend eight months of instructional time on one goal--teaching to this test.

The students are given repeated and endless opportunities to meet minimal levels of achievement. The scores have gone up, but the skills of the students are barely impacted at all.

Now factor in the students who are bused to Gompers for the magnet program; they come from all areas of the city (mostly economically advantaged). They are typically highly motivated and have had successful elementary experiences in science and computer programs. Many have home computers, and most have an adequate background in the language and computational skills necessary to be successful at Gompers.

Our resident students come to Gompers because, in addition to a magnet school, we are also a neighborhood school. Many are underskilled due to the nature of AGP instruction and goals set by the district. Many of these students are not motivated by our computer and science offerings, and many do not have the advantage of home computers to refine their skills. Naturally, many find it hard to compete.

It should be noted at this point that some minority students have been and continue to be successful at Gompers, not to mention the successes of our Indochinese population, many of whom are still learning to master the English language.

Now to focus on the district data. First, it is being used to support the contention that grade favoritism is a blunt reality at Gompers. But these figures have not been analyzed by district or site officials, nor have they been researched to find specific cause-and-effect relationships.

To understand the data, the district number crunchers need to investigate why students fail at Gompers. As a six-year veteran English teacher at Gompers, might I suggest that many of these students who don’t make it don’t bring books to class, don’t study and don’t do class work or homework. Many of our failing students do not attend regularly or make up work when they are absent. Lastly, many do not have the motivation necessary for them to achieve at a successful level.

Other factors that contribute to this situation may be the influence of local gangs and community hostilities, which spill over into our school environment and affect the learning and attitudes of many of our students. The reluctance of school officials (district and site) to discipline unruly students who victimize their peers also impacts upon the learning environment, the effects of which should not be minimized.

The stability of our program, deemed the city’s most successful magnet program, has been jeopardized. In the last two years, we have lost many of our finest teachers who have been difficult or impossible to replace. The morale of our present staff is low due to repeated harassment and threats to ruin our careers. Perhaps a more telling statistic is that we have had four principals in the last five years. Currently, the Gompers program is unstable and in peril.

This situation needs to be resolved as quickly and completely as possible. Supt. Tom Payzant needs to inject himself into this dispute. The mid-management people handling this controversy do not have the clout or widespread confidence of those most directly involved to satisfactorily assess, address and cauterize the wounds inflicted upon the faculty and program by a few disgruntled malcontents who presume to speak for the entire Gompers community.

GREG FROUNIER

San Diego