Group seeks explanation for black students' scores

Holly Yettick:

The gap between black students' scores and the Denver Public Schools average has grown or stayed the same since 2002 on more than half of the 22 state exams administered last year in reading, writing and math.

A group of the city's black leaders gathered Monday to demand an explanation.

"This is a crisis," said Larry Borom, chairman of the school district's Black Education Advisory Council.

Borom and others called the news conference in part because they were alarmed that black students' proficiency rates fell 5 percentage points in 2005 from 2004 on the third-grade Colorado Student Assessment Program test in reading.

The district's proficiency rate for white students dropped, too, but by 4 percentage points, according to results released in May.

Results for 2005 CSAP exams in other grade levels and other subjects are scheduled to be released this summer.

But 2004 and 2002 racial breakdowns of CSAP data provided Monday by the district showed that the gap grew between black students' proficiency rates and the district average on nine of 22 reading, writing and math exams. It stayed the same on five more.

"Seems like parents have given up," said news conference participant Menola Upshaw, president of the Denver Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "Teachers have given up."

On a more positive note, black students now score at the district average on fourth- and ninth-grade writing.

They exceed the district average in fourth-, sixth- and ninth-grade reading.

The district did not immediately provide the average scores of white students. That is significant because blacks and Hispanics have historically lagged behind whites on statewide exams. DPS' 73,000 students are 57 percent Hispanic, 19 percent black, 19 percent white and 5 percent other. This means the students factored into the district's average test scores are mostly minorities, not whites.

Issues raised for next DPS chief