Local Boston media outlet GBH News reported that enrollment in the Boston Public Schools’ upgrading program for high-achieving fourth, fifth and sixth graders was suspended at the end of February due to an Epidemic and concerns about the fairness of upgrading classes.
Dr. Brenda Cassellius, who oversees the Boston Public Schools, recommended that the public schools suspend enrollment in the improvement classes for one year. New students will be admitted to the fourth-grade improvement classes based on criteria determined by each school, and fifth and sixth grades will not enroll new students in improvement classes this fall for next year, but students already in improvement classes will be allowed to continue. It will be up to each school’s principal to decide whether or not to continue in the improvement classes.
According to the U.S. school system, fourth grade is for students ages 9-10 and fifth grade is for children ages 10-11, both of which are part of the elementary school level. Sixth grade would be the first year of secondary school, enrolling students ages 11-12.
Dr. Caselli said, “We have a lot of work to do in the Boston School District, and to be anti-racist, we need to have policies in place in order to give all of our students a fair chance at a fair and excellent Education.” Boston School District officials have reportedly launched a working group to determine a long-term plan for the enhancement classes and are expected to make recommendations in May.
The Boston school district’s analysis of data on students in the improvement classes in various public schools found that more than 70 percent of students in the improvement classes are white and Asian, yet 80 percent of students in Boston’s public schools are Hispanic and black.
Dr. Lorna Rivera, a member of the Boston School Committee, said at a meeting in January that nearly 60 percent of fourth-graders in one West Roxbury school’s improvement class were white, but most third-graders were black and Hispanic. Rivera was troubled by the findings, she said, “which are unacceptable. “
He Qinglian, an overseas Writer and scholar of Chinese economics and sociology, argues that this approach “effectively abolishes the system of dividing students into fast and slow classes according to their academic ability. Because the test favors Asians and disadvantages blacks. The abolition of the improvement class is “equal results, everyone is slowed down, and the performance of blacks is equal. “
Qinglian He raised a very interesting question, “Is this discrimination against black people’s learning ability or Asian people’s learning results? “
The Boston Public Schools’ Upward Bound program, which is open to all public school students, works by allowing third graders to take the Terra Nova test and, if they score high, they are placed in a lottery at the central administration office, where they receive a letter inviting them to apply for to improve their classes. Last fall, 453 students received letters inviting them to apply for the Advanced Placement class, 143 students applied for the class, and 116 students were admitted to the class this year. In an enhanced class, students have the opportunity to study subjects in greater depth and are required to complete more assignments than in a traditional course.
Dr. Caselli said that interest in improvement classes has declined over the years and that only five schools in Boston currently have improvement classes, one of which is in the Chinatown neighborhood.
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