Positive outliers may hold keys to Black student success

In all ambitious endeavors, a key question is how long to stay the course when outcomes look bleak, and when to course correct. It’s past time for Seattle Public Schools to confront this question with regard to Black students.

The gulf in outcomes between them and their white classmates is so wide, and has persisted for so long, that finally, in 2019, the district created an entirely new department to tackle the problem.

Focused attention was long overdue; in fact, it came seven years after Seattle had already made “equity” part of its mission. Better late than never. Grant money was collected to fund the initiative, currently about $6 million, and performance measures set.”

That’s why it’s especially concerning that now, four years after opening the Office of African American Male Achievement, only 26% of Black third graders are able to read at standard. That’s worse than the rate when this effort kicked off, and a frightening 30 points behind the district’s target for 2023.

Third grade matters because it’s a turning point, the period when children are expected to pivot from learning to read to reading to learn. Without the skills to make this change, kids tend to fall behind in other subjects too, compounding their problems.

It’s a relief to see the district taking note, as described in a news story last weekend, and changing the way it teaches Seattle’s youngest students, especially in schools with a high proportion of Black children. A particular bright spot: West Seattle Elementary School, where 67% of students are Black, and more than half of all kids are reading at grade level or above.

District Superintendent Brent Jones says one of the best things to come out of the Office of African American Male Achievement so far is a wealth of data. Excellent. He should use it to zero in on positive outliers like West Seattle and model next steps on its success. Improvement can’t come soon enough.

Because as students get older, the gaps between them stretch ever-wider. At Denny Middle School, for example, only 32% of Black sixth graders were reading at grade level when tested last spring, compared to 62% of white students. A key tenet of the emphasis on Black achievement has been helping kids feel a greater sense of belonging and empowerment. But after a year of that focus at Denny, scores had barely budged: Only 32.7% of Black seventh graders there were able to read at grade level as they moved on to eighth grade.

By high school, when students need to think about building careers and adult lives, lagging performance truly becomes an emergency: At Rainier Beach, South Seattle’s storied athletic powerhouse, only 12% of Black sophomores were reading at grade level last spring, according to data from the state education department.

Which raises the question of diplomas. One of the most important targets that SPS set for Black achievement was its expectation for course-passage rates among graduating seniors. But something is off: At Cleveland STEM High School in 2022, just 18.5% of all students met standards in science, and 33% in math. Yet, somehow, 81% of Black seniors passed their classes and 94% graduated.

If nothing else, whatever they are learning is clearly not aligned with state tests. And standards for earning an SPS diploma appear to be even lower.  

When pressed to answer for numbers like these, educators feel attacked. Understood. Constantly pointing out faults is no way to make people — or systems — change. But neither is defensiveness or excuse-making or, worst of all, hiding one’s head in the sand.