As the Monroe City School Board begins a new year with new members, it will face the same problem that has plagued the system for the last ten years: the failing academic performance of African-American Students in the system.
It began when former Governor Bobby Jindal appointed John White as state superintendent of education in 2012. White pushed to increase the graduation rate of Louisiana schools and insure that every student was prepared for college or professional careers.
He instituted an accountability system that pressured teachers to get high test results. High school principals were given a “graduate them” mandate, and for many, that meant by any means necessary.
Overall, White’s plan worked. Louisiana’s graduation rate increased by 6.1 percent, and the number of students entering college increased by more than 16 percent.
However, the system only worked well for white students. For black students, it resulted in higher graduation rates but fewer students entering four-year colleges and poor performance in core subjects. In essence, the system walked black students across the stage straight into a community school. Blacks graduate but are unprepared to attend a four-year college without two additional years of community college.
We felt it in Monroe: The latest state scores released last year for Monroe City Schools showed white students with scores that often tripled those of their black counterparts in the same coursework, sitting in the same classrooms.
The numbers don’t lie. Straight from the state Louisiana Believes website, our dilemma is revealed in the numbers.
Examples: Among Monroe High Schools, 62 percent of white students scored Advanced or mastery in English 1, while only 23 percent of Black students had similar scores.
In English II, 75 percent of white students scored Advanced or mastery, while 50 percent of Black students scored below basic.
In Algebra, 60 percent of white students scored advanced or mastery, while 79 percent of Black students scored below basic.
In Geometry, 43 percent of white students scored advanced or mastery, while 71 percent of Black students scored below basic.
In U.S. History, 52 percent of white students scored advanced or mastery, while 77 percent of Black students scored below basic.
In biology, 35 percent of white students and 50 percent of Asian students scored advanced or mastery, while 66 percent of black students scored below basic.
The average ACT score for white students in the city system is 20, but for African-Americans, it’s 15.
The school board has played musical chairs with principals, swapped teachers around, and brought in new supervisors, but the result is the same each year.
The board needs to double down and find a solution. Outside help may be needed. There has to be a turnaround strategy somewhere in America that can stop the hemorrhaging of black scholarship.
The system graduates white scholars but mostly passes out empty diplomas to black students.
The School board is predominately black.
If nothing is done to correct the problem, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
