Here's a truth: there's a student achievement gap in colleges and universities that persists across race & class and it threatens our students' ability to succeed. We need to fix it. Proud to join my colleagues on a bill to help these institutions do just that.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 5, 2019
I don’t know which bill this 3 month old tweet is referring to, but I imagine it has passed and The Gap is fixed by now. So that Taki column I wrote last week about what the Stanford school achievement test score data base teaches us about racial gaps … well, never mind. It’s all been fixed.
Okay, here’s the press release:
April 03, 2019
Harris, Colleagues Introduce New Legislation to Narrow College Achievement Gaps
Bill Would Establish Competitive Grant Program for Higher Ed Institutions to Address InequitiesWASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) on Wednesday joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) in introducing the College Equity Act, a bill that would give colleges and universities funding to address disparities in higher education recruitment, admissions, and support.
Well, if you have old iSteve favorite Brian “White Privilege” Schatz on your side, you must obviously know what you are doing.
“The student achievement gap that persists along race and class lines at colleges and universities across the country is a direct threat to students’ ability to succeed. We must fix that,” Senator Harris said. “I’m proud to join with my colleagues on this legislation to encourage these institutions to identify, study, and fix the driving factors behind the achievement gap and ensure that every student has an opportunity to thrive.”
Well, identify, study, and fix the driving factors behind the achievement gap should take, what, a week?
“There are schools where veterans, people of color, and people with disabilities are able to thrive, and others where they struggle.
Of course, it turns out in Stanford Professor Sean Reardon’s database of thousands of public school districts that there isn’t a single one in the USA where blacks score as well a white on official school achievement tests.
Studies show that too often higher education outcomes depend on demographics. Students of color have lower acceptance, enrollment, and graduation rates, as well as lower post-graduation salaries and higher student loan debt. Over half of all college students with disabilities do not graduate within eight years. Less than 60 percent of all Pell Grant recipients complete degree programs within six years.
The College Equity Act takes three steps toward addressing these kinds of achievement gaps.
Problem solved!
