Report Finds ‘Glaring Racial Inequalities’ in Public Schools

Latinos, African Americans and Native Americans are underrepresented in college prep courses and programs for the gifted, while they are suspended and expelled in disproportionate numbers, according to a new report by a liberal public policy group.

In its study of 12 school districts, the Oakland-based Applied Research Center also found that minority students are more likely to drop out and less likely to graduate and go to college than their white counterparts.

As a result, the nation’s public schools are creating “glaring racial inequalities” rather than increasing opportunities for students of color, the group concluded.

Coauthor Terry Keleher said the promise of an equal public education for all students remains unfulfilled nearly half a century after the Supreme Court’s landmark legal decision to desegregate schools.

“We are very concerned that there is a two-tiered education system for those who are expected to succeed and those who are not expected to succeed,” Keleher said.

Officials of the U.S. Department of Education would not comment on the report. However, they acknowledged the widely recognized achievement gap that separates whites and Asians from other groups, particularly Latinos and African Americans.

“We know there have been continued disparities in a number of these areas, [but] disparity doesn’t necessarily equal discrimination,” said Erica Lepping, a spokeswoman for the Education Department.

Lepping said the federal government has increased funding for several initiatives aimed at equalizing achievement for all groups of students. It has, for example, sought to expand preschool and after-school programs in high-poverty areas and provide more Advanced Placement courses in schools in such communities, she said.

“We take very seriously any minority achievement gap, and it’s a big justification behind a number of the things we are trying to do,” she said.

All 12 school districts surveyed for the report are racially diverse and have both urban and suburban areas. They included the Los Angeles Unified and San Francisco Unified school districts and school systems in Chicago, Boston, Denver, Columbia, S.C., and Providence, R.I.

Each school system received a “racial justice report card” based on the rates for dropouts, graduation and other factors. The school systems failed in virtually every category judged by the researchers.

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Much of the report focused on discipline, saying so-called zero-tolerance policies against school violence had fallen hardest on minority students.

The San Francisco district showed the greatest disparity in who received discipline, the report said. African Americans made up 18% of the district’s enrollment last year but accounted for 56% of the suspensions and expulsions, according to the report.

A school district spokesman would not comment on the report because she had not seen it. But she said the district has tried to give growing numbers of students a jump-start in their education by sending them to child development centers before kindergarten. At the same time, the district has sought to give teachers training in cultural sensitivity, she said.

“We still have a lot of work to do in all of these areas,” said Elaine Koury, the spokeswoman. “I think this is not just a school issue. We are dealing with historical trends. When children don’t feel valued, they feel alienated. When they feel alienated, sometimes they do antisocial things. This is not an isolated issue. It’s something our whole country needs to work on.”

The report also examined disparities among students taking Advanced Placement courses.

In Los Angeles, Latinos make up 69% of the district’s 711,000 students but only 44% of those in college prep classes and programs for the gifted, the report states.

By contrast, white students make up 11% of the enrollment but account for 23% of those in such classes; Asians represent 7% of the district’s population but 25% of those in the rigorous courses.

Supt. Ramon C. Cortines said he is concerned about the disparities.

“We are focusing on effectively teaching reading so more students will be eligible for AP courses,” he said. “I have been talking with middle school and high school teachers about my concerns. In math I don’t just want [students] taking algebra and failing. I want them taking courses in the sixth and seventh grades that will make them succeed in algebra in eighth grade.”