In the 1960s, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson were three black women who studied mathematics, computer programming, engineering, and complex arithmetic. Each would eventually be hired by NASA, where their work was instrumental in helping the United States win the space race against the Soviet Union. They were pioneers in science and math.
In the 1980s, Joe Louis Clark was the principal of Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey. He inherited a floundering school that failed to pass statewide proficiency tests. When Clark arrived, he implemented strict disciplinary measures that changed the school’s academic performance.
It’s a good thing none of them were students in Oregon today. They would have been victims of the systemic racism incorporated into the bill Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed in July. Oregon’s lowering of academic standards is the latest in a long string of leftist ideas that accomplish nothing but harm minorities in our country.
As students return for the start of the new school year in Oregon, Brown took steps that will make their education substantially worse. Senate Bill 744 eliminates essential skills testing through the 2022-2023 school year. It eliminates the requirement for a student to demonstrate proficiency in reading, writing, and arithmetic before graduation. Also eliminated? Accountability of schools and standards for students.
Additionally, this is on top of the already horrific academic performance of Oregon’s students. Data shows that nearly half, 46.6%, of all students were not proficient in reading and writing. Moreover, less than 40% were proficient in math. According to the Urban Institute on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Oregon’s fourth graders are in the bottom six in math in the U.S., while eighth graders place in the bottom 15.
There were 582,661 students in Oregon school in the 2019-2020 school year. Approximately 39% of them were nonwhite students. While students of all races performed poorly in the state, black and Hispanic students did far worse compared to white students. White students passed reading exams approximately 60% of the time. However, only 31% of black students and 37% of Hispanic students passed reading tests.
Math exam scores were even worse. White students passed math exams less than 47% of the time. However, black students passed at an alarming rate of only 18% of the time and Hispanic students at a concerning rate of 24%.
Minority students are performing poorly in Oregon schools as it is. Without requiring any standards to graduate whatsoever, S.B. 744 will further disproportionately harm minority students. It will deprive them of legitimate education. The elimination of evaluating reading, writing, and math will result in children graduating without having the necessary skills to survive in society.
Imagine if Clark decided to lower standards instead of upholding them. Imagine if Jackson was encouraged by her home state to graduate without proficiency in math. What would have happened if Vaughan was enabled to graduate without knowing how to write? Would we have won the space race if Johnson was permitted to progress through the school system with inferior academic standards?
Jackson, Vaughan, and Johnson were the subjects of the critically acclaimed movie Hidden Figures. Clark was the subject of the hit biopic Lean on Me. They were pushed in the academic realm, not placated. We should be empowering students, not dumbing them down. Our country became great because we produced some of the greatest minds by challenging our students, not coddling them.
Democratic President John F. Kennedy once said, “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger people.” It would be a valuable lesson if the Democrats in Oregon remembered that.
