Standardized testing and assessment policy: Impact on racial minorities and implications for educational leadership

Abstract

Despite years of education reform, America's public schools continue to provide an unequal education to many low-income and minority students. Although urban schools receive millions of dollars to correct disparities, the standardized test scores for African-American and Latino students remain much lower than those of white students. This chapter discusses the influence race and discrimination have on the achievement gap in public education. It includes a description of the gap's emergence during the 1970s, the social and political changes the caused it to widen during the 1980s and strategies for closing the gap.

Citation

Williams, D.G. and Parker, L. (2002), "Standardized testing and assessment policy: Impact on racial minorities and implications for educational leadership", Hunter, R.C. and Brown, F. (Ed.) Challenges of Urban Education and Efficacy of School Reform (Advances in Educational Administration, Vol. 6), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 207-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3660(03)80016-1