Oregon School Declares Core Skills No Longer Necessary Because Minorities Aren’t Testing Well
School officials in Oregon have decided that proficiency in reading, writing and math are no longer necessary in order to graduate, reasoning that minority children are not testing well and therefore the current standards are “discriminatory”.
Yes, really.
Oregon students will no longer need to be proficient in reading, writing, and math to graduate. They’re doing this cuz of “inequity” and having standards to graduate “disproportionately harmed students of color.”
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 24, 2023
The Oregon Dept of Education is racist. pic.twitter.com/8N1XvtdVh7
The Daily Mail reports that the State Board of Education there voted to suspend the need to prove standards in core skills for FIVE years because ‘equity’, or something.
Woke Oregon school chiefs suspend need for high schoolers to prove math, reading and writing skills to graduate for FIVE MORE YEARS - to bolster minority students who 'don't test well' https://t.co/8HIzLU96FX pic.twitter.com/c9SzD4sc5Q
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) October 24, 2023
The standards were put on hold during the pandemic, but no simply will not be brought back until 2027 as they have been deemed ‘harmful’ to students of color, students with disabilities and those learning English as a second language, the report notes.
Board members claims that state-mandated standardized tests will still be administered to most high school students in the State, but will not be employed to determine whether a student has the skills necessary to graduate.
“The only thing we are suspending is the inappropriate use of how those assessments were being used,” state board member Vicky López Sánchez, a dean at Portland Community College, declared during a meeting, part of which is highlighted in the video below.
Another Board Chair, Martinez Zapata described opposition to the move as a “campaign of misinformation” and “artistic quality mental acrobatics,” further claiming that the arguments against doing away with standards are rooted in “myopic analysis and bigotry,” as well as “racial superiority.”
The move has prompted a fierce backlash from parents and members of the public.
“It is not bigoted, it is not racist to want your student to be able to actually learn,” former gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan noted, adding that “At some point … our diploma is going to end up looking a lot more like a participation prize than an actual certificate that shows that someone actually is prepared to go pursue their best future.”
Drazen further stated that “The board failed to discuss their responsibility for lagging academic achievement in our state. Instead they cast the blame on a tool used to measure a student’s ability to read, write and do math. It’s disappointing that these unelected bureaucrats decided to ignore public comment and continue down a path that neglects their responsibility to help students meet high standards.”
