Return-Path: <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id f2OFSkg29332; Sat, 24 Mar 2001 10:28:46 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 10:28:46 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <001901c0b476$b11a3800$23bffea9@hppav> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Mary Ann Corley" <macorley1@earthlink.net> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:444] Students Fare Better With Minority Teachers X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 Status: O Content-Length: 2826 Lines: 64 The following news story from Texas A&M University may be of interest to you. -Mary Ann Corley macorley1@earthlink.net ************************* http://www.tamu.edu/univrel/aggiedaily/news/stories/archive/042498-2.html Students Fare Better With Minority Teachers COLLEGE STATION - Both minority and Anglo students score higher on standardized tests if they attend Texas schools with more minority teachers. That is the conclusion from a team study conducted by researchers from Texas A&M University and the University of Texas, Pan American. As part of the Texas Educational Excellence Project, the study examined the 350 largest multiracial school districts in Texas from 1991 to 1996. The study compared minority and Anglo students in school districts with a higher percentage of minority teachers to those in districts with fewer minority teachers. The study used TAAS scores to determine student performance, controlling for other factors that influence student test performance such as poverty levels, expenditures and teacher qualifications. The researchers were not surprised by the positive relationship between minority teachers and minority student test scores; other studies have also found that linkage, says study co-director Kenneth J. Meier, the Charles Puryear Professor of Liberal Arts at Texas A&M. "What was unexpected was the positive association between Anglo student test scores and minority teachers," Meier commented. "The impact on Anglo students is actually slightly larger than the impact on minority students." Much of the debate on affirmative action and similar programs implies that minority gains will result in Anglo losses. This study challenges that view, suggesting that all students are better off if the number of minority teachers increases, the researchers note. "This finding lends support to the concept of a multi-ethnic teaching faculty promoting gains for all students," said Robert Wrinkle, professor of political science at the University of Texas, Pan American. Although the gains from minority teachers were not large, the study only anticipated small differences. "There are no magic bullets in education. Change occurs in small increments over long periods of time," Meier states. "The findings on minority teachers are consistent with the impact of other variables that affect student performance." The study implies that programs directed at increasing the number of minority teachers will have benefits for all students. Nationwide, however, minority enrollments in education programs have declined. "As other opportunities have opened, teaching has become less attractive to talented minority students," Meier noted. The researchers are presenting the study at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, this weekend in Chicago.
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