Monday, October 20, 1997
Letters
Inadequate schools, not inadequate kids
In a recent editorial questioning the fitness of the SAT as a
standard for admission ("SAT an unreliable measure of academic
success," Oct. 13), the Daily Bruin perpetuates the absurd myth
that the test contains questions that are culturally biased against
certain minorities. I have never understood this line of reasoning,
and I will continue to be befuddled by it because The Bruin fails
to elucidate why the test’s content disproportionately favors the
knowledge and abilities of whites and Asians. The editorial states,
"There are …questions in the exam that require knowledge that
certain minority groups may not have much exposure to." But what
questions is the author referring to – questions about some
clandestine Caucasian ritual? Obviously, such questions don’t
exist. In my experience, the questions on the verbal section of the
SAT are not easy, but they are questions that intelligent people of
any ethnicities can answer, provided they are studious and
well-read.
Poor performance by minorities on the SAT is not due to some
inherent inability to correctly answer the questions. Rather, it is
due to the inadequate academic preparation that many poor
minorities receive in elementary and high school. According to
comparison studies between U.S. and foreign countries, the quality
of our schools is far below that of most other Western nations. And
nowhere are our educational shortcomings more pronounced than in
poor minority communities. The lack of adequate reading, vocabulary
and math preparation is to blame for low minority scores – not the
content of the test.
I believe that the whole notion of a cultural bias on the SAT
simply results from confusion between ethnicity and
educational/financial background. The Bruin makes this error when
they explain the "cultural bias" by stating, "Some minority groups
aren’t as wealthy as others." Let’s not confuse the two entirely
different concepts of ethnicity and educational background. Let’s
stop putting the blame on the content of a fair test and let’s
start attacking the root of low SAT scores – an inexcusably poor
primary and secondary education for too many poor minorities.
Raphael Rabalais
Third year
Psychology