Summary

Since 1995, when the disparity in achievement between white and minority students was first addressed by the Loudoun NAACP, Loudoun County Schools have put in place program changes to improve test scores. Despite these efforts, the disparity remains. Thirty percent of Loudoun's African-American third graders failed to pass the 2003 SOL reading test. Social justice for our minority children compels the school system to more vigorously address this issue.

• Teacher Quality. It is now possible to measure teacher quality with great accuracy. Superior teachers can produce more than six times the learning growth than that of inferior teachers.

• High Expectations. Teachers with high expectations have students who produce work of high quality. Minority students in Department of Defense schools routinely achieve at high levels.

• Reading Programs That Work for Minority Students. The Congressionally mandated National Reading Panel reported in 2000 that beginning reading programs should include a significant degree of phonics. Research also shows that minority students learn to read more effectively with phonics-based programs.

• Research on the Brain. New research shows that reading takes place in several parts of the brain, that dyslexia runs in families, and that children's brains are more pliable than previously thought. Reading programs are being altered to reflect these findings, and several remedial programs are making dramatic progress with disabled readers.

• Research-Based, Proven Programs. Programs and practices with a solid research base are more effective than those derived from fad or ideology.

• Small classes. Small classes foster higher achievement, and may well pay for themselves in reduced rates of learning disabilities. One study shows that up to 40% of children classified as learning disabled were never taught to read properly. Smaller classes and high-quality reading programs in grades K-3 could substantially reduce the cost of special education programs.

• Greater Parent Involvement. Minority underachievement must be addressed in the home as well as in the schools. Low birthweight, inadequate nutrition, student mobility and lack of parent support are contributing factors. Members of MSAAC might seek the help of the schools in developing a program of minority parent education.

Loudoun's minority parents must lobby for programs and practices with a solid research base, and teachers and schools that are held accountable for a child's progress. All children -- regardless of their ethnic or economic status, deserve the best Loudoun has to offer.

Loudoun Branch NAACP

Education Committee

January 2004