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Communities of Color: A Critical Perspective in the Common Standards Movement

The Campaign for High School Equity (CHSE) held a briefing to provide recommendations for the development of common academic standards that take into account the unique needs of students of color and low-income students to ensure that all children, regardless of ZIP code, income, race, or ethnicity are taught to the same high standards. 

Speakers:

• Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
  
• Brent A. Wilkes, national executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
  
• Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers
  
• Denise Forte, director of education policy, House Committee on Education and Labor
  
• David Beaulieu, Ph.D., director of the Center for Indian Education at Arizona State University

“Even though our kids represent the fastest-growing segment of public school students, communities of color are still frequently left out of the process of defining academic success in our country,” said Michael Wotorson, executive director of CHSE. “Communities of color must be meaningful partners in the development, implementation, evaluation, and validation phases already under way in the common standards movement. If the leaders of this process fail to engage those most at risk, they may actually perpetuate educational inequities and therefore be complicit in creating a permanent underclass in America.”

According to the Alliance for Excellence Education, African American, Latino, and Native American high school students have at best a six in ten chance of graduating from high school on time with a regular diploma. And contrary to the model minority myth, many Asian Americans also face barriers in education. For example, about half of adult Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans have less than a high school education.

Setting common academic standards can be a critical step toward closing the achievement gap if they are implemented effectively and fairly. But standards that do not take the unique needs of students of color into account will miss the mark and ultimately do communities across the country a disservice, according to CHSE. In particular, the federal government, governors, and state education decision makers need to consider that:

• standards must account for the sovereignty of Native American tribes and communities or risk leaving these students further behind;
• English language learners may need customized standards, both for learning English and for learning with their peers in other subjects;
• if standards are not accompanied by strong incentives for states and districts to align their curricula and assessments, students in low-performing schools, districts, and states will be at more of a disadvantage with high standards;
• the adoption of common standards must include a plan to hold states accountable for meeting the unique needs of students of color; and
• states must be held accountable for making sure that a set of common standards is the starting point and not the “end” for effective education for students. Students of color can benefit from rigorous, clear standards that include effective teachers, access to high-quality supports, and accountability for improved academic achievement and graduation rates for all students.

 

	Michael Wotorson, executive director, CHSE View the Video
	Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) View the Video
	Brent A. Wilkes, national executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) View the Video
	Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers View the Video
	Denise Forte, director of education policy, House Committee on Education and Labor View the Video
	David Beaulieu, Ph.D., director of the Center for Indian Education at Arizona State University View the Video
	Discussion, Part 1 View the Video
	Discussion, Part 2 View the Video
	Discussion, Part 3 View the Video
	Questions and Answer Session, Part 1 View the Video
	Questions and Answer Session, Part 2 View the Video

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