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Forum on “Acting White: Realities, Myths and Challenges” Ronald F. Ferguson

Forum on “Acting White: Realities, Myths and Challenges” Ronald F. Ferguson Faculty Chair and Director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard and Lecturer in Public Policy &Senior Research Associate at the John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University Presentation at

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Forum on “Acting White: Realities, Myths and Challenges” Ronald F. Ferguson

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  1. Forum on “Acting White: Realities, Myths and Challenges” Ronald F. Ferguson Faculty Chair and Director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard and Lecturer in Public Policy &Senior Research Associate at the John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University Presentation at Harvard Law School Charles Hamilton Institute for Race and Justice March 7, 2006 Ronald_Ferguson@Harvard.edu 617-495-1104 Note: Some of the specific numbers in this handout are likely to change as more schools are added to the data, but the basic patterns are likely to remain much the same.

  2. Why focus on the achievement gap? • Achieving middle-class living standards is more dependent than ever on having basic reading and math skills. People with weak basic skills earn substantially less now, in real terms, than in the middle 1970s. • Near the middle of this century, nonwhites will become the majority of the US population and workforce; the nation’s economic future will depend fundamentally on the skills of nonwhite workers. • Race-conscious affirmative action for admission to selective colleges and universities has an uncertain future in the federal courts.

  3. Some Good News • Black-white and Hispanic-white test score gaps at the high school level for NAEP and SAT scores narrowed dramatically during the 1970s and 1980s, during a period when the gap in high school graduation rates also narrowed. • There is some preliminary evidence that the black-white IQ gap has narrowed since 1970. • Some Bad News • At the end of the 1980s, black-white and Hispanic-white gaps for high school students abruptly stopped narrowing for NAEP scores, SAT scores and high school graduation rates.

  4. Mean SAT Scores by Race/Ethnicity, 2002 Source: 2002 Profile of College-Bound Seniors – National Report, The College Board.

  5. NAEP Reading Scores for 12th Graders in 1994, by Parent Education Level Source: NAEP 1994 Reading Report Card for the Nation, U.S. Department of Education

  6. MATHEMATICS SCORES for 2004: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Long-Term Trend Assessment Scores Source: NAEP Long Term Trend Assessment, 2004, U.S. Department of Education

  7. READING SCORES for 2004: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Long-Term Trend Assessment Scores Source: NAEP Long Term Trend Assessment, 2004, U.S. Department of Education

  8. Standardized Long Term NAEP Reading Scores for Black 9, 13 and 17-Year Olds (Measured as the proportionate distance below the average score that 17-year old whites achieved in 2004) 17 Year Olds 13 Year Olds 9 Year Olds Birth Year: 1971 1975 1987 1995 Source: Constructed from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Long Term Trend Assessment, 2004.

  9. Changes from 1984-96 in Black 17-year Olds' Mean NAEP Reading Scores, by Region, and in the National Percent Who Read Daily or Almost Daily for Pleasure

  10. The following slides pertain to acting white and related issues in secondary schools. Data come from a large sample of students, surveyed in spring 2005 across 17 schools in several states.

  11. Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson, using Tripod Project data for 6th to 12th graders collected spring 2005 from 17 secondary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, MA and CA.

  12. Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson, using Tripod Project data for 6th to 12th graders collected spring 2005 from 17 secondary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, MA and CA.

  13. Mean levels of agreement among black high school students with the statement, “At this school, people like me get accused of acting white.” Shown by grade point average. (Standard deviation units. The difference between “A” and “C” is statistically significant at the 0.005 level.)

  14. Mean levels of agreement among black high school students with the statement, “At this school, people like me get accused of acting white.” Shown by grade point average. (Standard deviation units. The difference between “A” and “C” is statistically significant at the 0.005 level.)

  15. Mean responses (z-values) to, “At this school, people like me get accused of acting white,” for black high school students, by the percent white students in the sample from that school. The point: accusations for blacks tend to rise as percent white rises. Percent white students in the school

  16. Levels of agreement among black high school students with the statement, “I feel out of place in this class, like I don’t really fit in.” Lines distinguish students for whom people like themselves are “never or usually not accused” of acting white versus “sometimes, usually or always” accused. (z-values)

  17. Levels of agreement among Hispanic high school students with the statement, “I feel out of place in this class, like I don’t really fit in.” Lines show distinguish students for whom people like themselves are “never or usually not accused” of acting white versus “sometimes, usually or always” accused. (z-values)

  18. Levels of agreement among white high school students with the statement, “I feel out of place in this class, like I don’t really fit in.” Lines show distinguish students for whom people like themselves are “never or usually not accused” of acting white versus “sometimes, usually or always” accused. (z-values)

  19. Levels of agreement among black male and female high school students with the statement, “I feel out of place in this class, like I don’t really fit in.” Lines distinguish students for whom people like themselves are “never or usually not accused” of acting white versus “sometimes, usually or always” accused. (z-values)

  20. Why black high school students with “A”-range GPA’s agree somewhat more than black students with “C”-range grades with the statement that, “At this school, students like me get accused of acting white.” Percentages of the predicted difference attributable to each listed factor.

  21. Considering all black students, why some respond that people like themselves “usually” or “always” get accused of acting white, while others say “usually not” or “never.” Percentages of the predicted difference attributable to each listed factor.

  22. Percentages of black students agreeing that it is at least somewhat true that, "I sometimes hold back from doing my best in this class, because of what others might say or think." Shown by GPA and whether or not students responded "never" to the statement, "At this school, students like me get accused of acting white."

  23. Youth Culture beyond Acting White • Who are black youth trying to be? • What gives them self esteem? i.e.,: • On the whole, I am satisfied with myself. • I feel that I am a person of worth, at least on an equal basis with others. • I take a positive attitude toward myself.

  24. Self-Esteem, by GPA for black and white Middle School Students

  25. Self-Esteem, by GPA for black and white High School Students

  26. Self-Esteem for male and female teenagers, related to whether rap or hip-hop music is “always” “usually,” “sometimes,” “usually not” or “never” “an important part of my life.” Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson, using Tripod Project data for 6th to 12th graders collected spring 2005 from 17 secondary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, MA and CA.

  27. Self-Esteem for male and female teenagers, related to whether rock music is “always” “usually,” “sometimes,” “usually not” or “never” “an important part of my life.” Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson, using Tripod Project data for 6th to 12th graders collected spring 2005 from 17 secondary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, MA and CA.

  28. Self-esteem, by GPA and by whether Hip-Hop music is “usually or always” “an important part of my life,” for black teenagers.

  29. Could racial differences in life styles and social norms, including parenting styles, contribute to the persistence of reading and math skill gaps?

  30. Within-race median parental responses in 1998 to: How many children’s books does your [kindergarten] child have in your home now, including library books? By mother’s years of schooling. Blacks Whites Mother’s Years of Schooling Source: Presenter’s calculations using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, a US Dept of Education national survey.

  31. Please notice how Asians compare to blacks, whites and Hispanics on the next several slides. What are some possible implications? The data cover first- through sixth-graders and were collected in spring 2004 & 2005 from 45 elementary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, IA, MA, MI and CA, as part of the Tripod Project for school improvement (a program created and directed by this presenter).

  32. My parents want me to tell them what I learned in school. (Grades 1-6) Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson, using Tripod Project data for 1st to 6th graders collected spring 2004 & ‘05 from 45 elementary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, IA, MA, MI and CA.

  33. At home, someone is always there to help me with my homework if I need it. (Grades 1-6) Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson, using Tripod Project data for 1st to 6th graders collected spring 2004 & ‘05 from 45 elementary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, IA, MA, MI and CA.

  34. I read almost everyday at home. (Grades 1-6) Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson, using Tripod Project data for 1st to 6th graders collected spring 2004 & ‘05 from 45 elementary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, IA, MA, MI and CA.

  35. At home, I watch television more than I do anything else. (Grades 1-6) Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson, using Tripod Project data for 1st to 6th graders collected spring 2004 & ‘05 from 45 elementary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, IA, MA, MI and CA.

  36. Percentages with televisions or computers in their bedrooms. (Grades 1-6) Source: Calculations by Ron Ferguson, using Tripod Project data for 1st to 6th graders collected spring 2004 & ‘05 from 45 elementary schools in NJ, CT, OH, NM, IA, MA, MI and CA.

  37. Bottom line: There are very few racial differences in the belief that working hard to get high grades in school is important. However, there may be social pressures and lifestyle patterns that differ by race in ways that favor the accumulation of reading and math skills by white and Asian, as compared with black and Hispanic children. The politics of addressing these issues openly in a white supremacist society may be difficult, but they are important to engage, even as we work also to address the more structural forces that remain important impediments to equality.

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