Iserotope

 A couple posts ago, I wrote about the predictability of student achievement and the need for teachers to interrupt the gap in academic performance.

What’s becoming clear in my AP English class is how starkly race plays into that predictability.

Most Mondays, my students write a timed essay in class. Then they type their essay before 11 p.m. on Google Docs. This deadline is so that their writing mentor, peer mentor, and I can review it on Tuesday. Getting the essay on Google Docs begins an intense revision process and solid opportunities for writing growth.

On Monday night, in a class of 23 students, four didn’t make the deadline. All are African American. There are six African American students in the class.

To quickly analyze the data:

• All students who didn’t meet the deadline are African American,
• Two-thirds of African Americans in the class did not meet the deadline.

It would be one thing if these students were “outliers,” but they’re not. They work hard and want to do well. After all, they chose to be in AP English.

Moreover, they’ve done well in past English classes, and teachers have praised their reading and writing skills.

Usually, my analysis, when seeing such stark academic data, is to say that I need to build better relationships across difference. This time, however, I believe it’s something else. Although I could be wrong, I’m pretty sure the students would report a strong connection with me.

Another interpretation is that it’s the digital divide. Yet all four students now have computers at home and have demonstrated their ability to handle the other tech challenges the class presents.

It’s definitely something else, and it’s my job to figure it out. If I don’t, then I’ll come to expect less from my African American students. I’ll come to predict a gap in their performance. And if that ever happens, if I no longer believe, and if my students know that I no longer believe, the students have no chance. 

 One of the biggest reasons that I’m a teacher is that I’d like to help make the world a slightly less inequitable place.

One way is to interrupt the predictability of student achievement.

This inequity is strong: Students who do well tend to do well. Students who struggle tend to struggle. Over time, the achievement gap becomes wide and menacing.

This predictability gets me to question why I’m a teacher. If my contribution leads to no change — if my students perform the same as they would with anyone else —  then I’m just promoting the inequitable status quo. It’d be better if someone else were in my classroom.

After all, my success this year is not just how many students pass the AP test. It’s also how many pass who wouldn’t have passed without me as a teacher.

So far this year, I’ve seen some signs that give me hope. Students with average reading and writing skills are working extremely hard, not giving up, and seeing their skills improve markedly and quickly.

Still, there is disturbing data. Here’s the story of one student. She…

• didn’t complete the summer assignment,
• didn’t turn in the first essay,
• didn’t have access to a computer until last week,
• is very hard to reach via phone or text,
• was the only student not to complete the unit project.

If I am unable to intervene successfully with this student, she will not only fail my class but also not graduate. This would be horrible. The good news is, It’s only October. That gives me time to build our relationship, work on our communication, set up support, and push.It’s crucial that I find a way for her to succeed. Yes, the work will be hard, and not all of my efforts will succeed. But when my student passes the class first semester, we’ll know that we’ve done something important together.