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December 1, 2002
Vol. 60
No. 4

EL Extra / Equity and Opportunity

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Combining Multicultural Instruction and Equity

  • It's easier to adopt a multicultural basal reader than to guarantee that all children will learn to read.
  • It's easier to plan an assembly program of ethnic music than to provide music instruction for all students.
  • It's easier to train teachers in a few behaviors in cultural awareness or curriculum inclusion than to address widespread student disengagement in learning.
Which approach—the easier or the more difficult-is most prominent in your school or district? Discuss Nieto's statement, “Multicultural education needs to be accompanied by a deep commitment to social justice and equal access to resources.” What does your school or district do to keep both of these ends in mind in the ways it serves ethnic minority students? How could your school or district improve?

Avoiding the Harmful Use of Standardized Tests

Jay Heubert (“First, Do No Harm”) asserts that “many states and school districts use graduation and promotion tests improperly, in ways that diminish rather than enhance the life chances of many low-achieving students.” Explore your school's or district's policies. Do you avoid the following harmful practices identified by Heubert?
  • Retaining students in grade. Heubert cites research showing that retention in grade often does little good. Does your school have a strong intervention system in place to avoid grade retention? Are alternative strategies in place to give extra support to students who lack the skills to move on to the next grade?
  • Assigning students to low-track classes. In many cases, low-track classes mean a focus on basic skills, low expectations, and the least-qualified teachers. If your school district groups students by ability, does it ensure that students at all achievement levels receive challenging, high-quality instruction?
  • Holding students accountable for subject matter not yet taught. According to Heubert, “research suggests that many states and schools are not yet at the point where they are teaching all students the high-level knowledge and skill that high-stakes tests increasingly measure.” Are curriculum and instruction in your school or district aligned with state assessments? If not, what steps are being taken to improve this alignment?

Ensuring Gender Equity

Two articles offer different perspectives on the status of gender equity in education: Denice A. Jobe (“Helping Girls Succeed”) points out that women still receive a low proportion of degrees in high-tech fields, experience a decline in self-esteem during adolescence, and suffer more from sexual harassment, substance abuse, pregnancy, violence, and eating disorders. Deborah Taylor and Maureen Lorimer (“Helping Boys Succeed”) assert that boys score lower on language arts assessments, are more likely to need special education services, dominate school discipline statistics, and have higher dropout rates.
Which group do you believe has the harder time in schools as currently structured—girls or boys? Do you think that schools should implement separate programs aimed at enriching instruction for girls and for boys? Or should schools simply implement high-quality instructional strategies that would benefit all students of both genders?
The following strategies are offered either by Jobe or by Taylor and Lorimer. Discuss whether each strategy would benefit boys or girls. Which strategies would benefit both groups?
  • Emphasize collaboration and teamwork in the classroom, instead of competition.
  • Infuse math, science, and technology concepts into other subject areas.
  • Increase the use of computers and technology.
  • Use multiple literacy strategies, including providing texts that appeal to students' interests, giving students choice in their reading and writing assignments, and using collaborative group work and assignments with real-life applications.
  • Supply mentors and same-sex role models.
  • Use active learning strategies, such as role-plays, debates, field trips, and investigations.
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Equity and Opportunity
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