Racial Bias In MVLA Schools
After watching the class documentary that covered racism in the schools in Boston, I researched to see if anything similar had ever happened in Los Altos-Mountain View school district. I found an article that claims that our school district discriminates against minorities. While this is a broad claim, the article had many statistics that backed up the idea that the MVLA district and other nearby school district were unfairly placing minorities in the wrong math classes.
The article says that of the 24% Latino and 2% African-American populations in MVLA high schools, these groups are disproportionately placed in Algebra in 9th grade, as opposed to Geometry like the majority of their Asian and white peers- even though many of these minority students passed Algebra and got similar test scores as their peers.
What are the effects of being placed in algebra freshman year? Well, students who are placed in Algebra are behind in math all 4 years and have a harder time getting into college. Being behind their peers in math also means that as seniors, they most likely won't reach calculus and other advanced math classes, which can freeze them out of future STEM jobs, an especially big issue here in the bay area, a huge hub of STEM careers.
This issue also exists in some nearby school districts (San Mateo and Santa Clara), where 51% of Latinos and 53% of African-Americans took Algebra in Middle School, and yet only 16-17% of both these groups went on to take Geometry in 9th grade. While the group that discovered this disparity, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, claim they have the grounds to follow through with a lawsuit, they have decided not to, and want to work things out with the school district and make sure kids get into the correct math class.
https://www.mv-voice.com/news/2015/06/04/civil-rights-group-claims-racial-bias-in-mv-high-schools
The article says that of the 24% Latino and 2% African-American populations in MVLA high schools, these groups are disproportionately placed in Algebra in 9th grade, as opposed to Geometry like the majority of their Asian and white peers- even though many of these minority students passed Algebra and got similar test scores as their peers.
What are the effects of being placed in algebra freshman year? Well, students who are placed in Algebra are behind in math all 4 years and have a harder time getting into college. Being behind their peers in math also means that as seniors, they most likely won't reach calculus and other advanced math classes, which can freeze them out of future STEM jobs, an especially big issue here in the bay area, a huge hub of STEM careers.
This issue also exists in some nearby school districts (San Mateo and Santa Clara), where 51% of Latinos and 53% of African-Americans took Algebra in Middle School, and yet only 16-17% of both these groups went on to take Geometry in 9th grade. While the group that discovered this disparity, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, claim they have the grounds to follow through with a lawsuit, they have decided not to, and want to work things out with the school district and make sure kids get into the correct math class.
https://www.mv-voice.com/news/2015/06/04/civil-rights-group-claims-racial-bias-in-mv-high-schools
Great blog post! When i was in my freshman year i was put in Algebra as well and i remember being in that class and the majority were minorities. I was in the class confused because the math we were being taught was really easy and i had already learned that in middle school so i felt like i was really being put behind. I also know a close friend of mine who had failed geometry their junior year and he was never told that he had to go to summer school for that and he had to take it senior year. I found that really unfair that he was never able to advance in his math classes and its harder to get into colleges with no being put in the right math classes.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really important example to recognize of one of the ways institutionalized racism impacts society, even in areas like Silicon Valley that are viewed as progressive and diverse. It goes to show how there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to combat the biases and prejudices many people hold, even when they may not necessarily even realize sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThis post reminds me of an incident last year when an MVLA board member made ignorant comments implying that there would be a need to lower standards in AP courses if minority participation increased. His words reflected disturbing stereotypes and neglected the reality of the situation. Further, such claims are literally examples of why schools need to continue working to expand opportunity for students who have been held back in education because of racial biases.
https://mv-voice.com/news/2018/04/20/mvla-teachers-condemn-trustee-comments-about-minority-students
I find this post very interesting as I myself, had experienced this first hand. I have always had the thought in the back of my head in regards to Algebra being filled with minorities, but I never knew it was a known fact by many other people. When I was placed in Algebra, I was lucky enough to have advanced by taking Geometry over the summer but, not everyone was able to have that opportunity, although many had the potential to do so as well.
ReplyDelete